《Forrest》 Chapter 1 Nightmare Chapter 1 Nightmare FORREST ¡°AHHH.¡± A deep groan broke from the Night Stalker Club office as I passed by. Fucktastic! A loud thud followed, vibrating the door. This was fucking ridiculous. Call me old-fashioned, but they could do it at home before they came over. I quickened my pace toward the entrance of the rooftop. Sex noise didn¡¯t surprise me, but considering my friends were the ones making those noises, it was awkward. I couldn¡¯t listen to that. I couldn¡¯t me them if they wanted a quick fuck with their wives though. They had the best lives, but ignoring the stabbing pain settling in my chest was hard. At the rooftop, the sun just sat down from the horizon. My eyes were steady as I watched the red, orange, and yellow colors before the twilight beckoning the sky. Those colors reminded me of fire, passion, danger, energy, happiness, and hope. I leaned my elbows against the concrete parapet, flicked the ash from my cigarette, and breathed in the remaining inch I lit up while watching for the sun to set. The lights started to scintite around me to somehow light up the darkness surrounding the city. I stubbed the butt till it stopped smoking. Exhaust and city pollution came back to life. I knew people said cigarette smoking was dangerous to your health, but this thing was a reminder that life wasn¡¯t fair. People thought I was a weird shit to choose a deadlypanion than a woman¡ªthat I didn¡¯t have a beating organ in my body, that I was an ice king if that even existed. What they didn¡¯t know was, I was a good guy, that I didn¡¯t even like this another part of me, but it grew inside me already, and I had to embrace it for some reason. The thing was, hard life taught me to be prepared. The only question was, would I ever want to be that person anymore? The old version of myself¡ªwhen I felt I was a better version of who I was today? I walked down and met the nightclub manager, Knd in the locker room. I quickly cleared my mind and pretended I didn¡¯t hear what happened earlier. ¡°Bro.¡± He patted my back. ¡°Hey.¡± I wore my ck button-down shirt and rolled each sleeve above my elbows. My tattoo peeked out. It was an orange me full of anger with ck smoke swirled from my wrists up to my arms. ¡°How¡¯s your trip?¡± ¡°Great. Thanks for arranging my sched.¡± ¡°Anytime.¡± ¡°Got to go to work. Bills won¡¯t pay itself.¡± I wore my ck apron with the club logo and walked out. The former notorious yboy, Pyke Hughes, the club owner didn¡¯t give a damn about the uniform. I was d he preferred ck. The main bar had its dimly-lit dived with only yellow lights emzoned from the low ceiling. Monday was not the busiest, but the customers entered in somewhat rush as soon as the club sign lit open. The music visualizer from the 3D walls created colorful particles in balls shaped that synchronized to the beat of the 90¡¯s pop song yed by the DJ from the booth towering the dance floor. Thedy in a ck dress ordered a dry martini, taking a seat on the dark barstool. Her makeup was simple as if she just came from long hours of work. She tapped her colorless perfectly manicured nails against the bar counter leisurely. Based on her dress, she didn¡¯te here to flirt and walk out with a man wrapping around her slender waist and have a wild night, but she was waiting for someone to arrive. Perhaps a friend. I grabbed the cocktail shaker, filling it with ice, gin, and vermouth I took from the back bar. I stirred it for a few seconds. cing down the martini ss on the counter, I strained the mix and garnished it with olives. ¡°Here you go, ma¡¯am.¡± She gave me a polite smile, muttering thank you. After working for more than two years as a bartender, I¡¯d learned quite a few, and not only on mixing drinks but also the different types of people; from rich kids, yboy, bad boy, flirtdies, cheating husband, horny guys, brokenhearted, dirty business, and sex, but I also developed a good rtionship with my friends despite cynical behavior. I ced down the order for table-four. ¡°I got this.¡± Dice, my barback took the tray with drinks to the couple at the dark red C shaped lounge chair with a half-moon-shaped silver table. With only a red light illuminated around the area, it was perfect for lovers and lonely hearts. I did my job, and time passed by like a blur. Sometimes, I wanted it that way¡ªit made me forget something I had in mind for the time being. ¡°Wanna stay for a while?¡± Knd asked, opening a bottle of beer. I shook my head. Our boss didn¡¯t leave yet either. Pyke settled in front of the bar counter, grabbing the beer that Knd had just opened. ¡°Thanks, Wright!¡± ¡°That¡¯s mine, man.¡± Knd groaned. I chuckled inwardly. They were literally brothers-inw now. Pyke married Cam, Knd¡¯s cousin. ¡°Wanna take it back? Go ahead.¡± Pyke raised the beer to offer back andughed while Knd was ring back at him. ¡°Then go grab another one.¡± ¡°Can¡¯t take for your own, dude?¡± Knd scowled. ¡°What¡¯s gotten into you, Wright? Does your wife not good at giving you orgasms?¡± Pyke teased. I had to blink back the thought of what had just happened earlier because if my memory served right, Pyke was quite clueless of them almost bringing down the door. ¡°Leave her alone, Hughes!¡± They talked about sex quite often when they were both single and might have shared women before. I had no idea. They quitted the moment they were in their serious rtionship. I guessed people did change because no one had seen iting that Pyke and Knd stopped their sexual escapades. ¡°How about you, Wood? When are you going to have sex? What I mean sex, the hardcore kind, kinky, and dirty. Have you lost your guymen yet?¡± Pyke smirked at me. Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. Knd snorted. ¡°Are you trying to liberate him?¡± ¡°Just trying to figure him out, Wright.¡± They might have a few thought I didn¡¯t like women or I was into dick, but who gave a shit? I shrugged it off. ¡°My sexual exploitation is just fine.¡± ¡°Really? Do you have a girlfriend? I know you¡¯re not married, but I never saw you going out of the club with a woman either. Waiting for a perfect girl, huh?¡± Pyke faced me, piquing his interest. I shook my head. ¡°No girlfriend. No wife. But I can assure you I have a sex life.¡± Knd and Pyke burst intoughter, high-fiving each other. ¡°Then why do you ask for days off everyst week of the month?¡± Of course, Pyke would ask. ¡°I have to travel to see my family.¡± I only had a long conversation with them when they invited me during a weekend or if it was not a work-rted topic. I thought they respected my privacy and never asked personal questions, but I caught Pyke often intently staring at me as if he was studying what was behind my facade. ¡°Of course.¡± He nodded subtly, seemed not to buy my reason. After bidding goodbye, I walked out of the employee exit to where I parked my Onyx ck 2001 Chevy Camaro Z28. I checked my phone for a call from someone as soon as I got inside. Zero. I pressed the music icon on the screen of the GPS. Instantly, Simple Man yed over the Bose speakers. I pulled out into the driveway, tapping my fingers on the wheel to the beat of the old rock music. Not less than an hour, I arrived at my pad. My pad was secured by an advanced security system that I installed myself. It had a camera on the peephole that no one would even notice. I inserted the key and pressed my thumb above the door handle with a small ck square for fingerprint scanning. In less than three seconds, the door clicked unlocked. I locked the door after double-checking to make sure things were in the right ces. I chose the colors ording to my preferences¡ªck, gray, and white. The dark gray curtain was drawn to block the light from the outside of the floor to ceiling ss window. Exhaustion took over me. I¡¯d been awake for more than twenty-hours now. I slumped body to my authentic crocodile skin couch and kicked my shoes off and massaged my temples. My mind went back to my phone. No call. I hit the number on my speed dial and it was picked up right away considering the timezone there. ¡°Any update?¡± Bill Lioner, my tech geek presented our proposal to the Diabetic Research Center in New York two months ago about our proposed project, the Advanced Insulin Glucose Monitoring System or AIGMS. Unfortunately, they turned it down. As much as I didn¡¯t want to disappoint him, I couldn¡¯t let his hope high. But if he believed in me and this project, I should at least believe in what we did. I knew Bill and his team worked their asses hard to get this deal. I just hoped it paid their effort. ¡°We¡¯re halfway through it. We could use a brain you know¡ª¡± ¡°I am busy.¡± I cut off Bill. His brain was more than enough for the project, and he knew it. ¡°That¡¯s why everyone is paid handsomely.¡± ¡°Right.¡± I could feel his disappointment even from a hundred miles away. ¡°I¡¯ll email you for the update after two months.¡± ¡°Make it after two weeks. I¡¯ll arrange a video conference.¡± ¡°T-That¡¯s impossible,¡± he stammered. ¡°I am not in a patient mode right now, Lioner. Make it possible.¡± My voice came out sharp. Bill even gasped from the other end of the line, and he was aware that we were almost running out of time ¡°Absolutely, sir.¡± I knew how much this project meant for him. If we could make a breakthrough, he would be the first to get the benefit since he¡¯d been diagnosed with Type II Diabetes back in college. ¡°Good.¡± Before I could hang up, something came up my mind. ¡°Bill, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, sir. ¡°I actually have an idea. I don¡¯t know if it¡¯s possible.¡± ¡°I¡¯m listening. Nothing is impossible, Forrest.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but smile when he called my name. ¡°Let¡¯s say you¡¯re right. Is it possible to put the monitor and the treatment together?¡± ¡°You¡¯re saying¡ª¡± ¡°I know it sounds crazy¡ª¡± ¡°Brilliant! Call me after a week.¡± My brow met in confusion. ¡°Okay?¡± I hung up the call. Instantly, my lids felt heavy. ¡°Mama! Mama!¡± I shouted as I ran toward our burning house. People from our small vige were already in chaos with buckets of water to cease the fire. I bit the hairy arm who tried to stop me, then ran faster as soon as I freed myself. I mmed the door with my body and ignored them yelling my name because I knew my mama was trapped inside. ¡°Mama!¡± I coughed furiously. My eyes stung, tears streaming down my flushed face. I couldn¡¯t see anything other than the thick dark smokeing from the kitchen. ¡°Mama!¡± I blindly walked and used my hands as my guide. I opened my eyes slowly the moment I reached the kitchen doorjamb. It was difficult to watch the scorching of huge me devouring Mama¡¯s cab filled with her Chinaware collections. It was like watching a starving animal eating its prey with an enormous appetite. ¡°Mama!¡± I shouted, running to where my mama was crawling out under our old wooden table, where we shared many meals. Her swollen eyes were pleading, filled with horror, sadness, and pain. ¡°G-go, m-my s-sweet boy. S-save yourself,¡± Mama choked her words out, making me shake to cry. There was blood everywhere¡ªon her beautiful face, her favorite white blouse, and on her hands as she pushed me away from her. ¡°Mama! No, Mama!¡± I gripped her wrists, dragging her out under the table, but she was too heavy, and she was pulling her hands out of my grip. I cried for help, but there were no words came out, instead, I continued coughing as the ck smoke entered and burned my lungs, making me wheeze and breathe harder. I quickly crawled under the table, ignoring the unbearable heat against my skin that I felt I was melting under. I covered my mama with my body, closed my eyes, and took the fate that was written for me. The me reached the table quickly, to my shirt and licked my skin greedily. The pain was excruciating, and I was helpless to fight. Chapter 2 Fired Chapter 2 Fired MEGAN Suckstastic! IT HAD been eight days since I lost my job. Eight days of wallowing in self-pity at the four corners of my apartment¡ªalone. And every time I closed my eyes, all I saw was the image flickering of my evil boss as he tried to vite me. He was a shameless piece of shit and thought I would just wee his loser dick because he had one. Since I kneed him on his balls and punched his wrinkled ugly face, I hadn¡¯t seen or heard from him again. I was immensely grateful and scared at the same time that cops would just knock on my door informing me that someone sued me for assault. I¡¯d never been violent in my entire life, in fact, I was always a victim. Then I saw red when he tried to do that thing that I was scared of. My instinct kicked in, and I did what I thought was right to save a little morality I had left. It was passed six when I got out of my bed. I tried hard to ignore my urge to call Cam and Bianca because I knew they were both busy with their husbands. And at this time, ine was busy ying with Ben and Sammy¡ªwho wouldn¡¯t? those kids were adorable. Lucky for them, they met men who respected, loved and treasured them like true gems. But luck was not on my side though, and I doubted if I could trust my heart to any man over again. I checked my phone, of course, no calls, no messages¡ªno one cared. Naught. My life sucks! *** The Night Stalker Club was crowded. The noises always made me feel alive, reminding me that I still had a reason to live despite my life had been turned upside down a couple of times, reeled and grief- stricken¡ªI still managed to pull myself together. Yay to me! I passed through the crowd and approached the bar. Thankfully, I found an empty barstool and rested my elbows on the dark counter, tapping my blood red-colored nails as if I wasn¡¯t drowning with self-pity earlier. My heart was speeding up in a second of anticipation as I scanned around, but I couldn¡¯t find him. Was he off work today? ¡°Caipirinha, please?¡± Dice, a bartender with Afro head nodded. The staff knew me through Cam and Pyke. I hummed to the pop song yed by the DJ at his booth. A few momentster, Dice ced down my drink and ced another order from the man beside me who wore a strong perfume. I turned my head slightly to check him out. He was wearing a sophisticated tailored suit with shiny personalized cuff links. He was rich, probably had his own office in Manhattan business district. Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. He raised his Jack on the rocks to acknowledge me and sipped it, then slightly turned to face me. I smiled timidly and sipped my Brazilian drink, and let the grassy herbaceous taste of cacha?a washed over my loneliness. Wash, huh? Ridiculous! ¡°Hi,¡± he prompted, smiling confidently. You¡¯re rich but not attractive. I don¡¯t feel all tingly. I must say though, this man was tall and physically fit, but I didn¡¯te here tonight to flirt and getid just to get rid of this sorrow churning inside me. I still couldn¡¯t forget what that dipshit did to me. I guessed I was born jinx after all. ¡°I¡¯m waiting for someone.¡± I crossed my legs to avoid touching his knees. ¡°He should be here by now. Shouldn¡¯t let a beautiful woman wait.¡± He raised an eyebrow, testing. Oh, god! Stop flirting already. I wanted to roll my eyes, instead, I smiled. ¡°What made you think I am waiting for a... man?¡± His eyes glinted wickedly. ¡°As gorgeous as you.¡± He strolled his gaze from my face to my chest, to my exposed thighs. ¡°It would be a waste.¡± ¡°You¡¯re maybe right, but I am really waiting for someone.¡± ¡°At least let me entertain you while you¡¯re waiting for his grand entrance.¡± Back off, already! Your cufflinks are too shiny for my taste. He extended his hand. ¡°Asher.¡± Oh,e on! Aren¡¯t you a little persistent? I reluctantly raised my hand to shake his. ¡°Megan.¡± Startled, I choked on my heart and my pulse pounded in my ears. My head snapped to the strong and deep voice behind the bar. Forrest had his dark eyes narrowed at me so intense that made me gulp, with dark thick brows squished together. His straight nose was ring, his jaw was locked tight that made his jawline sharper. ¡°Il est tellement chaud.¡± I thought it was my voice. His gaze made my knees tremble. This man always carried the pain, mystery, and broody character, but he was damn beautiful with his imperfection. His powerful presence caught me hyper-aware that had my body tense and my vagina shamelessly reacted. Oops! I shouldn¡¯t have thought of that. Too late, Megan. ¡°Forrest.¡± I coughed his name. He took a few moments to somewhat assess me before he talked again. ¡°You okay?¡± I nodded. Suddenly, it came to my senses that I¡¯d been staring at him for a couple of seconds and not saying anything. It was always this way. ¡°Yeah.¡± My word came unsure. ¡°Can I get you another drink?¡± He looked down at my almost empty ss. My hand turned shaky as I pushed the ss toward him. ¡°Yes, please.¡± A man on my left side cleared his throat. Ipletely forgot I was about to shake his hand. ¡°So, you¡¯re Megan.¡± I nced at him. ¡°He¡¯s here.¡± ¡°Wait a sec. You¡¯re dating that bartender?¡± Did I say anything about dating? He gestured his head to the magnificent back of Forrest who was wearing a ck shirt, sleeves were rolled up his elbows, showing off his mes tattooed that I found it intriguing and sexy. I preferred a clean guy, but it just looked damn good on him. Sometimes I wondered if he had a few more tattoos underneath the dark shirt he was wearing. Did his abs or deep V covered with tattoos as well or did he have a piercing on his gpole? Bad bad girl, Meggie. I leisurely watched his biceps bulged as he busied himself mixing. ¡°Nope.¡± ¡°Your brother then?¡± I snapped my head and stared at the man for good seconds. I opened my mouth, but before I could speak, Forrest ced the drink in front of me. ¡°Back off, dude. You¡¯re not her type.¡± Forrest¡¯s voice was deep and harsh, but I could feel that was intentional. ¡°You¡¯re one to talk.¡± ¡°What do you think?¡± My mouth cked open and parched because Forrest didn¡¯t even open his mouth if he didn¡¯t have to. He was a man of a few words. He used to brood than to spend his time talking to someone like this pompous dumbass beside me. Forrest always intrigued us. I just didn¡¯t have the gut to even talk to him if I didn¡¯t have a choice. He intimidated me like a predator, but something deep inside me triggered every time we locked our gazes ¡ªit was like rolling of thunder with warmth and desire, but I had to keep it to myself because he was a friend in my circles. But boy, that¡¯s a damn shame because he looks so good. ¡°You¡¯re a bartender, dude. Don¡¯t stick your nose where it doesn¡¯t belong. I am just asking a beautiful lady over here¡ª¡± ¡°Just like you asked another beautifuldy yesterday?¡± ¡°What is your problem?¡± ¡°My problem? Didn¡¯t she tell you she was waiting for someone?¡± Oh, he heard me? My eyes ping-ponged between them while I was trying to process that they were arguing because of me, yet, I couldn¡¯t tell them to stop. Clearly, Forrest pissed off Asher. The dude¡¯s face was ming red and stoned hard. ¡°I can make a comint against your rudeness behavior and make sure you can¡¯t find another job even sweeping dog shits in the street.¡± ¡°And I am so shaking,¡± Forrest answered confidently. ¡°Asshole!¡± Asher barked harshly. ¡°You¡¯re not the first time to call me that.¡± He grabbed the empty ss on my left and a few dor bills. ¡°Forrest, what are you doing?¡± I asked him, finally finding my voice to speak. ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± he mumbled under his breath, then pinned his gaze at me. ¡°You could be in trouble.¡± ¡°Who gives a damn? What are you doing here? Alone.¡± ¡°I¡¯m a customer.¡± I shrugged. Forrest shifted his gaze to my back, and I noticed Asher left his stool. ¡°This is for you, asshole.¡± He threw the bills toward the counter then walked away. Forrest picked them up from the floor, then Asher¡¯s empty ss. I waited until he would talk to me again, but he kept himself busy with the other customers and never came back to me as if I didn¡¯t exist anymore, and it pissed me off. He passed by me when he had to take orders. The rest of the evening remained uneventful. Feeling insignificant, I drained my drink empty. After a few deep breaths, I pulled myself together, took a few bills from my clutch and ced it on the counter. What happened to me? I wasn¡¯t this attention seeker. I could get attention from any man I wanted. I had a fair share, but I knew that they only wanted one thing from me, and that was what I hated myself for. Or perhaps, I wanted something more. Something else. Or more so, someone. I shook the images of my past life as they passed by in a slow blur and walked out of the club, hoping not to return. I stayed inside my car for a while, resting my head against the headrest. I couldn¡¯t let my failures consumed me. I needed to find a job, moved on, and forgot those damages happened in my past. I couldn¡¯t depend on my friends every time I had a problem¡ªwe weren¡¯t like before anymore. They had priorities than to listen to my sad life stories that no one could fix it other than me. People thought I had a perfect life because what they saw in me was the flirty and funny Megan, and not the damaged woman behind these walls I built years ago. I started my car when my eyes started to blur. So much for an emotionally unavable bitch! A knock had my head snapped to my window. ¡°Megan?¡± Crap! Chapter 3 Fuck Off! Chapter 3 Fuck Off! FORREST Where the fuck is she? SHE JUST left! I was just waiting for my break to chat with her, then I found her seat empty. There was no way she went with that jackass! I had a few ideas about Megan¡¯s history of hook-ups, but I was thest person to judge her¡ªshe was a consenting adult. I just didn¡¯t want her to mix with that scumbag of all the people because he had a shy card at his disposal. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± I patted Dice on his shoulder and took off my apron. My blood was already boiling, and I badly wanted to light a stick if I wasn¡¯t still working. I strode toward the exit, hoping to apologize for butting into their chin-wag earlier. She couldn¡¯t have gone far. The smell of pees and cigarette assaulted my senses as I scanned the area where Megan could possibly park her car. I sprinted to the parking lot, thankfully, her car tail lights were still on. A red haze gathered behind my eyelids as soon as I spotted her outside her car. Shit! ¡°Megan!¡± I ran toward her, already quivering with rage. Pictures of her being harassed shed in my brain when I noticed her on the ground, leaning against her car, seemingly shaking with her face buried in her hands. As I got closer, I could hear her sobs that had me perplexed for a moment. This couldn¡¯t be from drinking. I¡¯d been watching her drunk her ass for years, and she was only on her second shot. ¡°Megan, are you okay?¡± I knelt in front of her and held her arms. ¡°Get off of me!¡± She jerked away from my grasp, terrified. ¡°It¡¯s alright. It¡¯s me, Forrest. Are you okay?¡± I spelled out and held her tightly as I inspected her for possible injury. ¡°I don¡¯t need you! All of you, assholes!¡± She yelled between sobs. ¡°Just tell me if you¡¯re okay to drive home and I won¡¯t bother you again.¡± Damn it! What am I even doing here? It was because she was a friend of my girls, and they would knee my balls if they found out I left their best friend alone. And she¡¯s Megan, dumbass! ¡°Just leave me alone.¡± I loosened her arms on my grip, and there was no way I would hurt her further. When she tried to stand up, I followed suit and took a step back. And that was when a chill of apprehension swept over me. Her nose was bleeding and had a hand imprinted on her left cheek. I was already balling my hands into fists before I could ask her. ¡°Who the fuck did that to you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine. Just go. Why do you even suddenly care?¡± She wiped off the bloodstain with the back of her hand and gave me a cold stare. She¡¯s a total mess. She wasn¡¯t like this. I wondered what happened to her for the past few days. The Megan I knew was funny and flirty who didn¡¯t filter and never cared how people would judge her. But this woman in front of me was apletely different person. She¡¯s lost. ¡°Is that a handprint of that motherfucker?¡± The urge to lifting my hand to wipe the blood from her nose had me shaking. Her chest puffed out, ready to throw me a pit. She was still crying though. Tears were streaming down her smeared face. ¡°If you didn¡¯t stick your nose into and humiliate him in the first ce, he wouldn¡¯t havee to do this to me!¡± I had to look away and gulped down an inhale of air. ¡°He¡¯s a jackass, Megan, but I shouldn¡¯t have done that. I apologize for my abominable behavior earlier.¡± ¡°Just leave me alone. I¡¯ll live, and it¡¯s not the first time like this happen anyway.¡± ¡°What do you mean? Do you know him?¡± ¡°You mean if I fucked him?¡± Her brow arched. I winced at her bluntness. There was something inside me triggered, and I didn¡¯t even want to think about it right now. It just hardened and twisted my gut even though I knew her who never care to filter her words. ¡°I don¡¯t care about who you sleep with, Megan¡ª¡± ¡°Then why are you here and why did you have to poke your nose in?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know. Can I get you something for your nose?¡± Jesus! I was aplete idiot. ¡°Ice maybe.¡± She rolled her eyes and grabbed the door handle of her car. ¡°I don¡¯t need your help. Not now. You should¡¯ve talked to me a long time ago if you wanted to.¡± ¡°What do you¡ª?¡± She faced me, fury filled her eyes. ¡°It means I don¡¯t need you, okay? Just fuck off!¡± A person I ever cared about came shing back in my mind, making me shuddered. It felt like she was telling me that I was a terrible person. After all, she was right, and I felt guilty about it. ¡°Okay.¡± I clenched my jaw as I tried controlling my mouth not to say any words anymore. It was my fault she was harassed, but I had the feeling that that jackass would just hurt her even more if they ended up in his bed. Why did I even care? Of course, I knew the answer. ¡°Bro.¡± Knd tapped my shoulder after cing an order to the bearded guy. ¡°Yup?¡± I grabbed a ss and poured ice cubes for the order Whiskey on the rocks. ¡°See those girls?¡± He gestured his head to the dark corner booth. I could barely see them, but one thing that caught my attention was the bare back of the woman in a red dress with a chin-length haircut. I forced a swallow as I strolled my gaze from her shoulder down to her spine. I felt the rush of blood surging through my veins in an instant. My skin vibrated with primal desires and insatiable hunger the longer I checked her out. ¡°W-Who¡¯s she?¡± I cleared my throat. My mouth dried. ¡°I-I mean who are they?¡± Knd eyed me intently before he answered. ¡°I don¡¯t have any idea they¡¯d be here tonight. Damn it! Why here? Don¡¯t let those two manwhores get near my girls. I may need to look for a new job if Hughes and Williams touch a strand f hair of any of them. And I swear to god I will break their faces, friends or not.¡± *** Mama! No, Mama! I jolted up, sweating, still catching my breath. Thankfully, it was just abrupt than the previous nights. I walked toward my kitchen with sweat dripping from my forehead. I grabbed a ss, filling water from the faucet and let the water run on my parched throat. My head snapped, eyes squinted to the sunrise streaking through the window. I couldn¡¯t help but chuckle bitterly. What happened at the parking lot edged my mind fiercely. ¡°It means I don¡¯t need you, okay?¡± ¡°Of course, you don¡¯t. You¡¯re a big girl.¡± After two hours, I already showered, dressed, and already standing in front of the tattoo parlor, Fluer. ¡°Coming?¡± My head snapped to the ss door, Milo already pulled it opened for me. His body was tattooed just like mine, but he was skinnier than me. If I haven¡¯t known n would beat his ass raw, I would¡¯ve thought Milo was snorting coke. ¡°Yeah.¡± I got in. ¡°How¡¯s your sister?¡± His sister was newly diagnosed Diabetic. And I felt bad that as young as neen, she had to suffer from that disease. ¡°Still adjusting, but she¡¯ll be fine. It runs in the family anyway. My skinny ass is just waiting for its turn.¡± The reception area was painted in light gray, two shadedmps were hanging loosely from the dark ceiling. Their masterpiece designs were framed and nailed proudly on the wall. Milo approached again, showing me his new design on the iPad. ¡°What do you think?¡± I nced down at the screen. It was a Hawk with fierce, zing red eyes that screamed chaos. Its frightening ck shiny wings spread widely that could soar across the sky. The striking ws were long, ck, sharp, and curve pointed downward promising hideous scars and excruciating pain to its prey. Amazing! ¡°What do you think?¡± he asked again impatiently. I shifted my gaze to his slim face, finding him showing me his signature grin and gleaming brown eyes. ¡°That¡¯s good.¡± ¡°Just good?¡± His brow arched. ¡°Man, I did this since the shop opened this morning. You should have at least a better word to say than just good.¡± His shoulders drooped, walking away to the long ck counter. He ced the iPad on top, copsed himself on the ck glossy sofa, and sighed heavily. I was terrible at anything rted to art, but I could appreciate a good one. And good was not the right word for his aesthetic work. I gave him that. ¡°That was awesome, Milo. Shut that scowl off your face. That can bring bad luck for the business.¡± I walked past him to the hallway. There were six small tattoo rooms. At the end of the hallway was n¡¯s office. ¡°Is he there?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± I heard the soft buzzing of the tattoo machine from one of the rooms. I could still feel the biting sting of the needle piercing my skin when I got my first tattoo, but nothing couldpare to the agonizing pain on why I had to ink myself. After knocking softly on the single panel glossy ck door, n said toe in. I entered and closed the door behind me. ¡°Don¡¯t you have work tonight?¡± A grayed-hair sixty-six old man looked up at me. For his age, he was still a diet conscious and managed to stay fit. Though he had already wrinkles, and his olive skinContent provided by N?velDrama.Org. started to sag around his neck, he was stronger as a horse. ¡°I do.¡± I slumped my back on the ck chair and leaned my elbow on his wooden desk. Bartending was exhausting and tricky, but I liked this job. ¡°Keep your heads down. You don¡¯t wanna attract unwanted attention. Did you understand me?¡± I rubbed my clean-shaven chin, waiting for him to talk. He stared at me for a moment, squinting his sharp whiskey-colored eyes on me. ¡°How was your trip?¡± ¡°A waste of time.¡± I had to socialize with those bastards, then I still ended up going home empty- handed. ¡°I told you to stop opening the can of worms, Forrest. I don¡¯t want you to get into trouble.¡± ¡°I am not.¡± Toote for that. ¡°And I was born yesterday, yeah?¡± he said sarcastically, taking something out from the drawer. He pushed a medium-size Man envelope close to my elbow and tapped it. With brows cocked, I picked it up. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Hisst whereabouts,¡± he informed. ¡°I won¡¯t let him get near you, Forrest.¡± ¡°As much as I like the idea of you watching my back, I can¡¯t risk you. I got this, n. You know his mind is twisted, but I¡¯m old enough to protect myself.¡± It was aplete lie because if I could, I shouldn¡¯t havee here to escape. I gulped down an inhale of air, realizing that that evil still affected me by just mentioning the word him. I took a deep breath and opened the envelope. Christ! ¡°Where did you get these?¡± I quickly asked and shot him a prating gaze. This old man never lied to me, but I couldn¡¯t put him at peril by involving him in my mess. ¡°I appreciate the effort, but you don¡¯t have to do this, n. I can manage to gather info on my own.¡± ¡°I know, son. And if my Intel is correct, he¡¯d be here in a few weeks.¡± That I knew of and the reason why he would be here. ¡°And you¡¯re wee.¡± *** I inwardly rolled my eyes when the popr pop song started ring on the speakers. DJ Kyan¡¯s 3c hair swayed as he shook his head, enjoying his mixed-up music. The crowd roared, jumped, and embraced the song simted to the shing lights. I focused back on serving. A dude left thirty bucks on the counter for his order. Before I could grab the bills, a tiny hand with french-manicured fingernails already had them. The ring caught my attention. It had a ruby stone too huge for a slender finger... like hers. What the¡ª? I pulled back as my heart started to pound in my chest. It was quite dim, but I didn¡¯t miss the wickedness glinting in her piercing caramel-colored eyes. ¡°Can I have that now?¡± I offered my hand, sounding like shit. Her perfectly aligned white teeth shed in a wide grin. She shoved the bills beneath her V-cut ck dress. Terrific! I lifted my gaze back and met a confident smile on her heart-shaped face. She leaned her elbows on the counter, showing more cleavage while tapping her fingers on her chin. Her perfectly groomed eyebrows arched. Clearly, she was having fun seeing my reaction as I gulped down the embarrassments of being caught staring down at her tits. Her gorgeous tits. ¡°What can I get for you, Megan?¡± I maintained a disinterested expression though it was useless. I was used to the women flirting on this counter and I made sure to never mix my work with pleasure, but this woman was Megan, and she came back to infuriate me in a different way. More like to keep me on hard-on throughout the night. Brilliant idea! ¡°What can you suggest?¡± She was still staring at me like I was herst meal. Megan had something in her mind, and there was in her aura shifted from the other night encounter, leaving me a big question mark in my brain. There were probably a hundred men in this club, and I knew Megan. She had no interest in someone like me. So, what was she up to this time? Revenge? ¡°Are you¡ª¡± ¡°Cosmo, broody. Double the lime wheel, please?¡± ¡°Aren¡¯t you supposed to be with your friends?¡± ¡°Nah. They¡¯re probably busy right now under their nkets. If they even use nkets. I mean why would they use, right?¡± She rolled her eyes, amused. ¡°They¡¯d be sweaty, panting, and slick¡ª¡± ¡°Alright.¡±Jesus! ¡±I get it.¡± Chapter 4 Small World Chapter 4 Small World MEGAN THE STOIC looked was back on Forrest¡¯s face. A frown deepened even more as I tried to get his attention. I just wanted to apologize, but my chance was starting to slip off my fingers when he gave me the cold shoulder. I didn¡¯t think he would give me a chance after what I pulled out the other night. I thought I could talk to him to keep what happened just between us because I couldn¡¯t let my friends know about it. He left right away after cing my drink and took another order from a socialite-ish woman two stools from my left. Forrest never flirted back with the customers, but this time was different, and it annoyed me. What was he trying to pursue? Fine. Have it your way. Oh, no! No freaking way! This was uneptable! What¡¯s so special with that woman anyway? I could feel something shifted in me as I watched them interacted with one another, and I wanted to w this woman¡¯s eyes out so bad, not to mention my stupid chest constricted painfully. ¡°Another, please?¡± I ced down another bill with the fifty bucks I grabbed from Forrest earlier. I dawned my drink in a single shot. Dice eyed me with curiosity. ¡°You might wanna slow down.¡± Dice took the cash, still wearing the incredulous look on his face. ¡°The hell I will. I¡¯m losing.¡± I red at him. Customers were in and out of the bar. I was left alone with the socialite-ish and the woman in a red dress that separated us, and she was still on the same drink Forrest ced down for almost two hours now. Was she going with him after his shift? Why did I care? If Pyke and Xandry were right, he never brought women home unless they were lying to keep his record clean. Right now something changed in his game, and I was beyond pissed that I wanted to punch his brooding face. This couldn¡¯t be happening. Gah, I can¡¯t believe he has a low taste in women! Low taste, huh? Her dress only cost a quarter year rent for my apartment. Bartenders and waitstaff were busy. Forrest never came back to take another order from me. He was avoiding my existence to the next level. What was his problem with me? He was the one who provoked that douchebag in the first ce. ¡°Asher, I thought you left,¡± I said as I rolled my window down. He leaned in and smiled apologetically. ¡°I just wanna apologize.¡± I got out of my car and fixed my dress as it rode up a few inches above my knees and smiled at him. ¡°I¡¯m sorry about earlier.¡± ¡°Yeah. About that dude. Are you two sleeping together?¡± Wow! That was thest thing for a man to ever ask a woman who wanted a hook-up. I shook my head, confused. ¡°No. He¡¯s kinda overprotective over friends.¡± ¡°Just friends, huh?¡± I could feel my face lit up that he kept it cool. ¡°Yeah, and I don¡¯t sleep with friends. Ever. Forrest doesn¡¯t date, and I doubt if he even sleeps around.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t see him as a saint either, but you seem to know him well.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve known him for almost two years. I mean we don¡¯t chitchat, but Forrest doesn¡¯t mess around with anyone. My friends kinda adore him. He¡¯s a good guy.¡± ¡°And here I thought you two have a thing because he just humiliated me in the bar to send me a message.¡± His face suddenly darkened. ¡°I don¡¯t think he meant it that way.¡± I shifted ufortably, feeling the chill run down my spine. ¡°Oh, he meant just like that, babe.¡± In a split second, he was gripping my jaw. ¡°You both shouldn¡¯t have messed with me. You don¡¯t know me, babe. I mean you¡¯re hot and slutty but I can find a better fuck than you.¡± My breath caught up in my throat. I tried to loosen his grip as he tightened around my jaw, causing my teeth to chatter. My limbs shook uncontrobly, and I couldn¡¯t think of anything other than fear. ¡°Did you understand me?¡± I nodded repeatedly, squeezing my eyes shut as my greatest fear was threatened to hit me like a tornado. My heartbeat was racing, nearly exploding in my chest. As much as I tried to gasp and expel my breath, fear already conquered me, consuming me. And in just a snap, a smack hit my cheek. The stong impact had my head snapped to the side, stumbling me against my car. My hand flew to my left cheek with a gasp before I even realized that he just pped me. ¡°I hope that¡¯s enough for him to get my message, bitch!¡± He quickly turned around and left me shocked, humiliated, and resentful. Still shaky, I hesitantly tapped the liquid trickling down my nostril as I dragged myself to the ground. What had just happened? All I could think at this moment was how weak, useless, pathetic, and helpless I was. ¡°Megan?¡± Startled, I gripped the counter as I was about to slip off the stool. I frowned to see the worry and pain stered all over his face. Spiral of humiliation and anger swirled in the pit of my belly when I looked at his hand. He was offering me a tissue, and I didn¡¯t know why until I felt the tears trickling down my face. Way to shut off my feelings for years, yet here I was, in just a little attention he gave, they shattered to pieces. What a pathetic loser I became. ¡°No. Thank you.¡± Determined, I wiped my face, slid off the stool, and eased back to walk away. *** ¡°What brings you back, Megan?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± I let my eyes roam around the entire room. It had been three years since myst visit, but this ce had been the same¡ªthe same warm ambiance, shelves filled with books, white orchid at the corner. A couple of framed certificates on the wall. A new set of couch though, a coffee table with thetest magazine issues, underneath was a white rag. Her regal chair was the same. ¡°What is your goal of seeing a therapist again?¡± She kept her perfect makeup face on the therapist mode as she crossed her legs, cing the notes and pen on herp. ¡°To start, I don¡¯t know why I am here.¡± ¡°Tell me what¡¯s bothering you right now?¡± ¡°Am I a slut?¡± Her well-trimmed brow lifted. ¡°What made you say that?¡± ¡°I was constantly vited.¡± ¡°That does not make you a slut, Megan. You¡¯re an attractive young woman. Men get attracted to you.¡± ¡°That does give them a right to get what they want. I hated it when I was too weak to even fight back. Do I need to enroll in a self-defense ss? Men are domineering dicks! They think they¡¯re invincible that they have everyone in their grasps.¡± ¡°Perhaps, what you need is to set a limit.¡± ¡°Like I should choose one man I sleep with,¡± I added. ¡°Why don¡¯t you consider going out on a serious date? Invest your time knowing each other, let your feelings grow on him.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t date a man. I don¡¯t date anymore. I would just end up getting hurt when he found out what I did.¡± I blinked as my eyes started to burn. ¡°That¡¯s where you¡¯re wrong, Meggie. Men will be lucky to be with you. You¡¯re a wonderful person. Not most men judge women on her past rtionship, her lifestyle, and her sex life. Sometimes men prefer well-experienced women and vice versa.¡± My gaze shifted to her. Her shrink wall went down. ¡°That¡¯s not what I mean. You don¡¯t have to make me feel I¡¯m a better person, Mom. I am here as your patient and I want you to be honest with me.¡± I left my old shrink and chose her instead because I trusted her more than anyone, and it was easy for me to open up to her. She had me when she was still in college. She was like my best friend before our lives had been torn apart. ¡°But I am also your mom. It breaks me to see you doing that to yourself. I know, dealing with your feelings is not your strong suit right now, but that¡¯s why I am here. You can do it. We can do this together, Meggie. It¡¯s time for you toe home.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think¡ª¡± ¡°Baby steps, Meggie. Today is the start. And I am so d that I...¡± She looked up and bit her lip. ¡°I¡¯m d to see you again. How have you been?¡± Thest time I visited her as my mother was when I was still in college. I couldn¡¯t see her ming herself for what happened to me, to us. I thought if I was far, she would be okay and made us forget the horrendous ident that night. ¡°Have dinner with me.¡± I shook my head. ¡°I need to find a job.¡± Her face fell again, pain crossed her face. I felt terrible for making her felt this way. ¡°Yeah. I am fired.¡± ¡°My receptionist is due in the next two weeks. I could use your help.¡± She smiled, delighted. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna work for you.¡± ¡°While you¡¯re still searching for a job. You can quit once you find one. At least something will make you busy, and it will pay your bills.¡± She knew me pretty well when it came to spending my savings. ¡°I know you never asked help from me, but I can¡ª¡± ¡°I don¡¯t need your charity. I¡¯ll let you know if I decided to ept your job offer. Thank you though.¡± I grabbed my bag and walked right to the door. ¡°Meggie?¡± I stopped dead in my track and nced at her. ¡°Yes.¡± She smiled sadly, and it broke my heart not to even feel her embrace. I missed her every day, but I couldn¡¯t just run back to her because I needed her. I still stuck to my decisions that I left because I could stand on my own two feet. ¡°Call me when you decided to have dinner with me.¡± I forced to smile back. ¡°Rain check?¡± Original content from N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Sure.¡± Once I was out of the building, I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, regretting that I called for a session. Perhaps, I wanted to talk to someone who would never judge me, to open up, or maybe I just missed my mom. I gave myself credit that I managed not to break down in front of her, but it didn¡¯t make me feel better as well. A yelp escaped my mouth before I even realized I was yelping, and strong arms were wrapping around me securely and protectively. A smell of pine and fresh mint reached my senses, making me aware that I was in a man¡¯s arms. His addicting scent was like a warm nket wrapped around me during winter. His quick breathing was warming the side of my head while my hands were gripping the strong and bulging arms as my quick reflexive response. When I gathered my strength to stand on my feet, I noticed the familiar tattoo on both arms, causing my face to burn. A zing fire. Great, Megan! Small world. My heart was already pounding, and right now, I thought it leaped to my throat when I realized it was him. Forrest freaking Wood. Forrest loosened his arms around me. ¡°Are you okay?¡± This was the third time he asked me, and I hadn¡¯t had given him the right answer. I turned around, and I was momentarily speechless to see his face in a broad daylight. Like always, he was unbelievably real, beyond handsome, always carrying strong aura and power. His dark sharp eyes were expressive with paintbrushshes that women would die for. His dark thick brows nted as he looked down on me that I thought he was always carrying the world on his shoulder. He had the straightest nose and the reddish full lips I¡¯d ever seen, and never a time I didn¡¯t think of how they feel on my skin. ¡°Megan? Hey? You okay?¡± I blinked, feeling my face red more with such sinful thoughts. ¡°Yeah?¡± ¡°You should be looking at where you¡¯re going. You almost hit by a car if I didn¡¯t pull you.¡± My eyes slightly widened. Oh, god, what¡¯s wrong with me? Again, I¡¯m speechless. ¡°Thanks,¡± I said shyly. ¡°Where are you going?¡± I stole a nce at the clinic, hoping he didn¡¯t see me exiting that building. ¡°I visited someone.¡± ¡°You better take care next time.¡± I smiled. ¡°Thanks again.¡± ¡°Sure.¡± When I reached my car, I turned around only to find Forrest entering the same clinic where I¡¯d been. Kill me now! Chapter 5 Troubled Chapter 5 Troubled FORREST ¡°GOOD TO see you again, Forrest.¡± Dr. Diana Reed sat back to her chair after our handshakes. ¡°You too, Dr. Reed.¡± I took a seat on the couch across hers while she was taking her notes and pen. She smiled. ¡°So, what brings you here today?¡± I rested my arms on my thighs and linked my fingers together. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± She studied me for a while before she asked. ¡°Have you been having trouble sleepingtely?¡± ¡°No.¡± I hated it when people tried to read me, but this woman helped me a lot over the years. n usually gave me a long speech to visit my therapist if he knew constant nightmares were keeping me awake, but this time, I came here willingly. For what reason? I didn¡¯t know. ¡°Something¡¯s bothering you.¡± She smiled knowingly. ¡°Let me rephrase. Is someone keeping you awake?¡± She must have noticed the dark circles under my eyes. I licked my lips and shifted on the couch. I always kept everything under wraps, but I didn¡¯t have an excuse when it came to my therapy. I had to talk about it somehow. ¡°What made you say that?¡± ¡°I am your therapist, Forrest. You said you don¡¯t have trouble sleeping, then this might be something new. Tell me about it.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t say that she¡¯s a bother though.¡± ¡°But?¡± There was definitely a but. Of course. I opened my mouth to say something, but I couldn¡¯t put what was bothering me into words. So I shut my mouth again. ¡°Okay. Tell me three things you think first thing in the morning.¡± She scribbled on her notes, then nced back at me. Fuck. Me. ¡°There¡¯s nothing to be ashamed of, Forrest.¡± ¡°I am not ashamed, Dr. Reed.¡± ¡°Then you knew everything we discuss here is just between you and me. It¡¯s normal to feel something toward a woman, to be sexually attracted over someone. And you¡¯re young and good-looking.¡± ¡°I know. It¡¯s just. It¡¯s not about myself I am troubled about.¡± ¡°It¡¯s normal to worry about someone.¡± ¡°Yeah. I guess so.¡± ¡°Let us think that you¡¯re not talking to your therapist right now. Think of me as someone you trust.¡± ¡°I trust you, Dr. Reed.¡± ¡°So you have feelings for her.¡± My gaze snapped at her. Her? Do I have? ¡±I am not sure.¡± ¡°But you care about her.¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Jesus! I just admitted. I wanted to run and nevere back. Something kept me from not doing so, instead, I crossed my legs, resting my back against the couch. ¡°That¡¯s progress. Tell me about it.¡± ¡°This happened about a year and a half ago. I just don¡¯t know if she knows that I¡¯d been watching her. We don¡¯t talk, I mean we exchanged his and hellos a couple of times, but we never got a chance to have a long chit-chat and talk about ourselves.¡± ¡°Why not?¡± ¡°We have nothing inmon. We have different perspectives about rtionships.¡± ¡°Do you believe that two opposite people attract?¡± Yes. ¡±Maybe.¡± I shrugged. ¡°What made you say that you two have different perspectives?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve been keeping tabs on her. I know it sounds creepy, but I mean no harm.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright. Tell me about her.¡± God, where do I start? I cleared my throat. ¡°She¡¯s straightforward, funny, quirky, beautiful, but what enticed me...¡± Enticed? Jesus. I wanted to hit myself in the head. ¡°...is her loose-tongued sharpness. I know not most men like that quality in a woman, but I like her just the way she is.¡± Whatever her reasons for avoiding a rtionship, I wouldn¡¯t stop until I figure out. ¡°I have different views about sex. I want a deeper intimate connection with my sexual partner as much as possible or at least I trust her with myself, my body.¡± ¡°That¡¯s great. Go on.¡± ¡°I had a couple of one-night stands. It¡¯s because I couldn¡¯t escape, but I¡¯ve been in a serious rtionship as well. I can handle the temptation, I am good at that, but I believe sex has more meaning when two persons share it with special connections, with trust at least.¡± ¡°And you believe that she doesn¡¯t believe in rtionships?¡± ¡°I think so. She¡¯s amitment-phobic. Her friends¡¯ word. Not mine.¡± ¡°And it¡¯s bothering you.¡± ¡°No. I mean, I don¡¯t care. It¡¯s just¡ª the thing is¡ª¡± Fuck! I sighed. Why does it hard for me to express? ¡°These past few days she changed. That what¡¯s bothering me.¡± ¡°How so?¡± ¡°She seemed lost, sad, and I knew something¡¯s wrong. I¡¯ve never seen her so down since I met her, but I can¡¯t just tell her to open up to me, besides, she already questioned my motives on why suddenly, I am talking to her. It¡¯s a good thing though, that she doesn¡¯t trust someone so easily. I mean unless I am wrong about her.¡± ¡°You want to gain her trust for her to open up to you?¡± I looked away, thinking of how should I answer her that I wanted more. The fact that I didn¡¯t even know how to approach Megan or why I was so bothered, to begin with? It¡¯d been almost two years since I¡¯d been watching her, and I was satisfied with that arrangement. Buttely, I couldn¡¯t just watch her as she ruined her life with whatever she was trying to deal with alone. She needed someone. She needs me. Does she now, dumbass? I wanted her to need me and consider me as her friend. Megan reminded me of someone. I thought that was it, but I waspletely wrong. Something flipped inside me and told me to do something, and that I never did in a long time. Dr. Reed was right, it was immensely bothering me. ¡°I wish it¡¯s that easy.¡± ¡°You just have to trust yourself, Forrest.¡± *** I was catching my breath after an hour on the treadmill, a hundred push-ups, crunches, and sit-ups, but I wasn¡¯t nearly satisfied, and my mind was somewhere else most of the time. The Fleur Gym was just next door from the tattoo shop, also owned by n. I didn¡¯t know what I was doing here, the fact that I had a mini-gym in my pad. Perhaps, I needed a little bit of advice. It¡¯d been a week since I nned on approaching Megan and asked her if we could talk over a coffee. I scoffed. Now, I¡¯m weird. Over a coffee? Yeah, I kinda knew what coffee she liked. Just the word talk made me wince in embarrassments of not having guts to ask her. Every time I saw her number on my phone, my brain froze and stopped me from dialing. After wiping my sweat off my forehead, I slumped my ass to the bench, lied down t, and did a few bench pressing. Then, I ced the weight back, sat up, and growled out a curse. ¡°You¡¯re distracted, man.¡± DJ Kyan breathed heavily after stepping out of the treadmill. Then propped his hands on his hips, looking down at me. ¡°Try sharing. It¡¯s not bad to talk to someone and ask for help once in a while. Just don¡¯t ask me for cash.¡± ¡°I¡¯m good, dude,¡± I denied, raking my fingers through my damped hair. ¡°Whatever.¡± He fixed his 3C hair with the ck headband. ¡°Grow some balls already and just do whatever you are nning to do,¡± he added. Yeah, maybe it was easier said than done. ¡°I said I¡¯m fine.¡± Pissed, I stood up and walked away from him. ¡°Whatever grow your balls, Wood!¡± ¡°Your balls need growing!¡± I stepped into the shower with a hazy brain. I needed to put myself together. I couldn¡¯t let this thing mix up with my priority that I¡¯d been investing over these years. Personal entanglement was thest thing I wanted. It wouldplicate things. I kept reminding myself that many times for a week now, but it didn¡¯t help. I realized it was toote. My life had beenplicated for ages. Shutting people out of my life didn¡¯t do any good, but this was me. I had to embrace what I¡¯d be. Nothing was going to change my past. I was happy with it, until recently that I had to ask myself again. I even made friends. They¡¯d grown on me, and I liked the feeling that I cared about someone more than myself. Damn it, Megan! A message popped up from my screen that had my heart leaped over my throat. Speaking of the devil. How did she get my number? N?velDrama.Org owns ? this. Megan: Hi. Sorry for this unusual message. I don¡¯t even know what I am doing at the diner across the tattoo shop, but here I am. Waiting... _Megan. I swallowed hard as I reread after reread her message. It was really from her because I had her number saved for almost two years. Forrest: What are you doing here, Megan? Wanna get a tattoo? My thumb hung in the air, rereading my message if it was right to ask or I sounded like a stupid. Finally, I hit send. Megan: I am at the Diner. What do you think? I don¡¯t eat ink and needles. I could feel her rolling her eyes. I typed my reply. Forrest: Be there in 3. I gulped back my nervousness as I entered the Diner. Why am I so nervous? It¡¯s just her. And this is the right time to put your n into action, don¡¯t you think, idiot? Scanning my gaze to the booths, I found her sitting alone at the far corner beside the ss window. ¡°Hi.¡± She smiled. ¡°Beautiful morning, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Hmm.¡± I took a seat across hers, trying to be in the best manner I could muster. I ced my hands over the over-used cream table and grabbed the salt shaker like a dumb. Jesus Christ! Can anyone me me? She¡¯s in front of me, and my social skill is a little bit rusty. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± I asked as I continued ying with a shaker. I couldn¡¯t just shut up, could I? ¡°You already asked me in your text. Don¡¯t you have any better questions? Like how are you? Or say something like you look beautiful, Megan.¡± I lifted my gaze at her. As always, she was beautiful in the daylight and glower than the silver moon at night. Just shut the fuck up, Forrest. Poetic doesn¡¯t suit you. Speechless, I just stared at her. Her face looked so vibrant with lesser makeup that she could fool you, but I wasn¡¯t nearly convinced. She was hiding something, but no matter how hard she tried, I could feel her walls were slowly falling apart. I wondered what she¡¯d been through. People did something for a reason, whatever happened to her in the past, or whoever did this to her, must have cut through deep into her. Beneath the surface of a firecracker, I knew, there was a heart in there¡ªsome sincerity, affection, and yearning. Every time I looked into her eyes, my chest ached as if I got through her¡ªfelt her pain, heard her cry, shared her grief. I liked her freckles scattered across the bridge of her nose and just above her cheekbones though, they made her more attractive. ¡°Done checking me out?¡± I blinked. ¡°Sorry. You¡¯re saying?¡± ¡°Thank you, Forrest. And I owe you an apology.¡± She squeezed my hand and had the heat crept over my face. Her touch was like a hot liquid metal burning my skin, seeping through my flesh. My body flushed and tingled to her innocent touch, and my cock¡ª Get a grip, dude. We¡¯re not her type. I pulled my hand back, breathed deeply. Before I could reply, the waitress arrived with a tray of breakfast. ¡°I thought you haven¡¯t had your breakfast. I went to the Fleur Shop earlier and met Milo. He told me that you were in the gym.¡±Did he now? I needed a serious talk with that dude not to tell a stranger about my whereabouts. I looked down at the two tes with stacks of blueberry pancakes, melted butter on top, and I was thinking of pouring a generous amount of maple syrup. She also ordered scrambled eggs, bacon, and two cups of ck coffee. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°Breakfast,¡± she answered reluctantly, and I felt like an asshole. Maybe we could be friends or I could get an answer. But I knew I would only make thingsplicated, and that was thest thing I wanted to happen between us because there was no way I would even try controlling myself when I was with her. Jesus, bending a few rules wasn¡¯t so bad when you were the one who created them in the first ce. She started her breakfast, and I grabbed my te closer. ¡°Thanks.¡± I sliced my pancakes and shoved it into my mouth. I was not a foodie but the taste of buttermilk exploded in my taste buds. I almost moaned and closed my eyes to the softest pancake I¡¯d ever eaten. ¡°That good, huh? Milo said I shouldn¡¯t leave without trying the famous pancakes.¡± I stopped chewing and might have moaned a little. ¡°Can¡¯t remember thest time I ate here.¡± ¡°Wait a sec, I thought you¡¯re staying above the shop like Milo?¡± What the fuck! How long had she been talking with Milo? ¡°No.¡± I shook my head and sipped my coffee. I savored the delicious breakfast on my te silently. Good thing was, she didn¡¯t pry anymore. Once I was done, I looked at her intently. ¡°What are you doing here, Megan?¡± ¡°I honestly don¡¯t know.¡± Chapter 6 When it Rains, it Pours Chapter 6 When it Rains, it Pours MEGAN I feel like a dumb. WHAT WAS I thinking? Perhaps, I wasn¡¯t thinking at all. I knew him of being distant, cynical, and cautious, and I was thankful he even joined me for breakfast. The way he looked at me, he probably had a lot of questions he wanted to pop, but he chose to keep them all to himself. Forrest didn¡¯t only intrigue me, but his stares, his charisma, his aura told me something that I could trust him, that we somehow understood each other, and that he could keep me safe, but safe from what? From whom? When I should be worried about myself, the way how I actedtely¡ªthese whole fiascoes I¡¯d created in the first ce. I looked down at the left side of my abdomen again as Milo rubbed the topical anesthesia. I can do it. There was no turning back, I would get this tattoo no matter what. I lied down and bit my lip, preparing myself for the pain. I hated needle, but this was one way of facing one of my own fears. ¡°Rx. This won¡¯t hurt much,¡± Milo said. ¡°You¡¯re a terrible liar,¡± I replied nervously. He chuckled. ¡°This won¡¯t take long. And I know you¡¯d love it.¡± ¡°Just do it.¡± Then the soft buzzed followed. I jerked at the first hit of the needle into my skin. For a fraction of moments, I felt I just freed from my cage¡ªI felt wild. It still hurt though, but it wasn¡¯t closer to the pain I inflicted. I closed my eyes as they stung with unshed tears. ¡°He¡¯s a good guy, you know.¡± My eyes flew open to his words. ¡°Who are you talking about?¡± ¡°Forrest. He may not talk too much, but trust me, he has a huge heart.¡± ¡°How do you know him?¡± ¡°His Uncle n took me in, taught me how to tattoo when he found out I know how to draw.¡± ¡°I see.¡± ¡°Forrest is a man of a few words. The type of person who acts than talk. He¡¯s a little rough around the edges, but the best guy I¡¯ve ever known.¡± ¡°I started to get that. It was my first time to share a meal with him though. We met a few times on weekends with our friends, but we never talked. You should have seen his reaction at the diner.¡± Heughed. ¡°Oh, I can imagine, Megan.¡± ¡°Sometimes he scared me, intimidated me, and intrigued me at the same time. For a long time, I wanted to know him better. I just don¡¯t have a gut. I feel like something is holding us back.¡± ¡°He doesn¡¯t share too much. Just don¡¯t push him. Let him open up when he feels like to open-up, but believe me, I trust him with all my life.¡± I wished I could trust him too, but I doubted if he would trust me in return. ¡°Milo?¡± I froze at Forrest¡¯s deep voice behind the door followed by a soft knock. ¡°I have a customer.¡± ¡°Is Megan with you?¡± I bit my lip harder as he mentioned my name. It was like warm honey pouring down my skin, running down my abdomen, sipping through my thighs¡ªnot now. I shook away those naughty thoughts. ¡°You¡¯re disturbing us, man. We¡¯re busy.¡± I could feel the amusement in Milo¡¯s voice. ¡°Just fucking answer me.¡± His angry voice wracked me. ¡°Is she in there?¡± ¡°Oh, shit! He¡¯s pissed. That¡¯s his different variations of fuck off.¡± Miloughed softly. ¡°Come in, man, but you might not gonna like what you¡ª¡± The door swung open and hit the wall, making me startled. I couldn¡¯t find a word to say. It just, my heart was in galloped. My skin tingled everywhere. I liked and hated this feeling at the same time. His presence made the room smaller for the three of us. I never felt ashamed of myself being half-naked, but with Forrest around, my insecurities got over me, and all I wanted was to ball and cover myself. ¡°Rx. Believe when I say he¡¯s the ambassador of goodwill.¡± With my eyes closed, I could feel the burning stare Forrest was throwing to me. So I answered nonchntly, ¡°Maybe the anesthesia is wearing off.¡± ¡°You¡¯re tense. Just give me a few minutes, and I¡¯ll be done before you even realized.¡± The chair screeched in front of me. And I didn¡¯t have to open my eyes to see who was in there. I could even smell him in a distance. ¡°I thought you left,¡± he stated, almost a whisper. ¡°I thought you too.¡± I swallowed hard. ¡°I was with n. Why do you wanna get a tattoo?¡± ¡°Why did you?¡± I opened an eye, and I found him staring at me, and I couldn¡¯t just look away. It felt like he was pulling me into his world the longer I stare at him. Instead of getting scared, it was weird that I liked it and wanted more. ¡°I like the design you got on your arms.¡± He blinked instead of answering and looked at Milo. ¡°I feel like I should go over my fear. I¡¯m scared of needle.¡± ¡°Why now?¡± ¡°I thought Milo is the best.¡± Milo chuckled. ¡°I did most of his tattoos, especially the one¡ª¡± Forrest cleared his throat or more likely groaned, cutting off Milo. I rolled my eyes. ¡°I¡¯m good at keeping secrets.¡± His gaze shifted to me for good seconds, and I never broke it until he did so. He crossed his strong tattooed arms over his broad chest, throwing Milo a chilly stare. I wondered what was on his mind right now. I wished I was like my mom who could read people¡¯s behavior and emotions. I wanted to break through his outeryer on why it seemed like the world was always weighing on his shoulder. ¡°Shouldn¡¯t you be at work?¡± His question had my gut twisted. ¡°I was fired.¡± ¡°Why?¡± Milo asked. ¡°A little privacy, Milo.¡± ¡°Sorry, man,¡± Milo muttered. ¡°My ex-boss was a shameless piece of an ass. He misread me and thought I wanted to bang with anyone has a dick.¡± Forrest groaned when Miloughed. ¡°Filter, Megan.¡± I rolled my eyes. My smile was self-deprecating. ¡°Why? Doesn¡¯t everyone look at me like a slut?¡± His head snapped at me with a re. ¡°For god¡¯s sake, woman. What¡¯s gotten into your head?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t pretend you don¡¯t know me, Forrest. You probably thought¡ª¡± ¡°Thought what?¡± he bellowed. ¡°Hey, calm down, man,¡± Milo interjected. ¡°I need to concentrate. Her tat has tiny details, and I can¡¯t do that of you are snarling over there.¡± Forrest huffed before he jerked to stand up and storm out of the room, leaving only a loud bang as he mmed the door shut behind him. ¡°Damn, that was cold.¡± ¡°Great,¡± I muttered bitterly. ¡°We won¡¯t talk to me again. Ever.¡± ¡°He has huge respect over women, Megan. Don¡¯t be too hard on yourself. He¡¯ll get over it and apologize. Just have a little faith for him.¡± The buzzing stopped. ¡°Is it done?¡± Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. ¡°Yes. Let me put a clean bandage. You just have to keep it clean and dry. I will give you an antibacterial cream. And don¡¯t scratch it, okay?¡± ¡°Thanks.¡± ¡°Can I ask you something?¡± ¡°If it¡¯s about Forrest. Don¡¯t bother.¡± I stood up from the bed and fixed my shirt. ¡°Nope. It¡¯s about the date on your tat.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t be nosy.¡± ¡°Fine. Nice to meet you, Megan.¡± He extended his hand for a handshake. I shook it and smiled. ¡°Me, too, Milo.¡± ¡°Let me walk you out to your car.¡± He led me the way outside the shop toward where I parked my car. ¡°You have my number. If you feel to get another tat, just give me a ring.¡± As soon as Milo left, disappointment swept over me. I checked my phone. I still didn¡¯t have a message from anyone. My life had turned to aplete ck and white. *** I woke up from the constant ringing of my doorbell. That couldn¡¯t be Cam, Bianca or ine. When I checked the clock, it was past eight at night and they were all busy with their family. Well, normal people could still be awake at this time, but not me. I¡¯d nowhere to go, no one to talk to, so I decided to sleep all day since I already sent my resumes to all thepanies who posted online for job hiring. Yawning, I dragged my sleepy ass toward the door when the doorbell rang again. ¡°Jeez! Just a minute!¡± My sleepiness was thrown out of the window the moment I saw who had the gut to be on my doorstep. ¡°You¡¯re not lost, are you?¡± I grabbed the two boxes of pizza before he could offer. I opened the top box and picked a slice. ¡°My favorite. Thanks.¡± I took a huge bite and walked to the couch. I ced the boxes on the coffee table, but I was still alone. When I turned around Forrest was still on the same spot, seemingly surprised. I shook my head and smiled. ¡°You¡¯re not a vampire that needs an invitation before you can enter my house, are you? And I am certainly not a witch, Forrest.¡± I gestured my hand. ¡°Come in, please?¡± ¡°I have no idea what are you talking about.¡± Of course, you don¡¯t, you gorgy! He sauntered inside, wandered his magnificent eyes around. ¡°See something that meets your taste? I am sure your apartment doesn¡¯t look like this. Have a seat. Let me get us something to drink.¡± I strode toward the kitchen and grabbed two soda from the fridge and two bottled water. When I came back, he was already sitting on the sofa, his jacket was already folded on the armrest. ¡°Milo forgot to give you your cream.¡± ¡°Oh, yeah.¡± He might have done it on purpose. ¡±I was tired to go to the pharmacy.¡± Or most likely, I drained all my strength thinking of what did I do wrong when you just bolted out of the tattoo shop, dumb. He fished out from his jacket pocket and offered the small box for me. ¡°Thanks. You don¡¯t have to do that. I am sure you don¡¯t go to your customers when they forgot to¡ª¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t.¡± Oh, wow! That was fast. Good job, Forrest. Honesty is certainly the best policy. ¡°And certainly not bringing two boxes of pizza on their door, right?¡± I put on a faux innocent look. I swore his eyes glittered, but he remained stoic as he stared at me in silence, jaw clenched as if he was trying hard not to talk. ¡°Do you want me to take a te for you?¡± ¡°No.¡± He took a slice of pizza and ate silently. The room turned dead silent. All I could hear were our breathing and the rustling of our movements as we ate our dinner. And I suddenly didn¡¯t know what to say or act. The fact that Forrest was in the living room of my freaking apartment was still a shock to me. I wasn¡¯t ready for this sudden turn of events. It was beyond my expectation that one night he would come knocking on my door, bringing pizza, and sharing his dinner with me because we were not close. What was this? A huge question popped in my head that I wished I knew the answer. He opened a soda and ced it in front of me, then he opened and sipped the other. He took another slice before he could eat it, he stopped and gave me a quizzical look. Of course, I was staring at him all over again. I wouldn¡¯t get tired of it. I gave him a terse smile. ¡°Thanks for the pizza. Let me guess, this gesture is a peace offering.¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t fight, did we? But I was an asshole this morning.¡± ¡°Apology epted.¡± ¡°Thank you.¡± After I cleaned up the table, Forrest remained in his seat, and I was scared that he might leave right away. Since he was already here, I wasn¡¯t ready for him to leave. ¡°Can we watch a movie?¡±I smiled impishly. ¡°I mean if you¡¯re not busy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m off today.¡± ¡°And you don¡¯t have anywhere to go?¡± ¡°No.¡± I sat back and turned the TV on. ¡°Great. What do you wanna watch?¡± ¡°Whatever you want.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t mind watching Rom or chick-flicks with me?¡± I raised a brow, and he just shrugged. ¡°Great.¡± I felt a little too excited and patted the empty space beside me. I knew it wasn¡¯t a good idea, but I knew Forrest had strong self-control than mine. And I am not his type. Yeah, it was written on the stone a long time ago. I wasn¡¯t expecting that he would sit beside me though, but again he surprised me, and he was even sitting closer next to me that our skin would touch if we moved a little bit. I chose a romanticedy on Netflix based on the best-selling novel. ¡°Would you mind if I ask?¡± If I have a boyfriend? I cleared my throat. Get a grip, Megan. ¡±Shoot.¡± ¡°How did you meet your friends?¡± Wow, that¡¯s odd! ¡°I met them during our sophomore in college. I was a part-time cashier in a supermarket near the campus. This douchebag walked in as if he owned the entire city. I saw Bianca flinched. Cam was with her at that time. I¡¯ve known his rep on the campus because I slept with him. I found out Bianca was one of his victims. So, I stole his phone and posted his¡ª¡± ¡°Don¡¯t continue.¡± ¡°Why?¡± I stared at him and he seemed pissed. ¡°Whatever you did, he deserved it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s my man.¡± Chapter 7 Yielding Temptation Chapter 7 Yielding Temptation FORREST What the fuck? Content provided by N?velDrama.Org. I COULDN¡¯T understand why she loved watching a movie so dreary. The plot was clich¨¦. It was about a woman with a colorful sense of fashion who fell in love with a guy that she met before she knew he was the CEO of thepany where she worked. I could appreciate reading than watching it because the acting was awful. I gave credit to the girl though, besides having real tits, her eyes were striking blue, but man, the guy was a fucker. I tried hard to be a normal person beside Megan, but I couldn¡¯t justugh with her. It was her who I was amused with. I held a groan most of the time¡ªher excitement caused me a little difort¡ªknowing that it was her hand touching my thigh and gripping my arm as she thought it was the exciting moment in the movie, and my little fucker was partying in his cage. Great! My inner goodness had been tested quite a lottely. When the main characters shared their passionate kiss and the intimate scene rolled, I averted my attention like a virgin. Fucktastic! My dumb brain, my stupid heart, and even my pesty cock were ecstatic to the thought that I and Megan were in that movie. It was annoying and stupid! What have I gotten myself into? She bumped her arm against mine when the credits rolled, grinning, eyes sparkled mischievously. ¡°I know you didn¡¯t enjoy the movie.¡± I shrugged. ¡°It was okay.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell me to watch another movie instead?¡± ¡°It was your choice, and it was really okay with me.¡± She gripped my arm and smiled. ¡°Most men argued about what to watch. They thought rom is absurd and the ending is unrealistic.¡± Well, they¡¯re right, but I don¡¯t want to spoil your moments. ¡°Then you should know by now that I am not one of most men. Most action movies are unrealistic as well. Imagine punching ten viin¡¯s sidekicks, escaping from the raining bullets, jumping from rooftop to another, never get a sprain, and the hero remained unscathed other than a small cut on his forehead at the end of the movie.¡± Sheughed. ¡°Thanks foring over, Forrest. I really appreciate yourpany.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get used to it.¡± Fuck! Did I just say that out loud? ¡°Of course, I should be.¡± Sheughed even more and widened her eyes. ¡°We¡¯re friends now, right?¡± I stared at her, and she was beautiful. She always took my breath away. Her small nose was perfect for her small face. Her ruby lips were spread into a smile, and she had a cleft chin that added to the features I liked in her. For more than a year, she never changed her hairstyle, other than curling it or changing hair colors, but she still looked beautiful in my eyes even she was at her lows. Her pupils suddenly reacted, and the satiny looked lips parted. I realized I¡¯d been checking her out. We were alone in her apartment, our faces were merely a few inches apart, her hot breath was fanning my face, promising me a delicious taste of her sulent lips, and I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, hear the thundering of my heart, and my skin crawling in anticipation. Still burning with desire, I stood up and took a deep breath. My nerves were still buzzing. ¡°I should go. It¡¯ste.¡± ¡°Do I get to see you again?¡± I looked down at her again then grabbed my jacket. ¡°It¡¯s a small world, Megan. You know where to find me. So, Yes.¡± ¡°Let me walk you out.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you girls usually meet every weekend?¡± I asked nonchntly as she led the way to her door. ¡°They¡¯re all busy. We still meet though, but not like before.¡± When I reached the door, I faced her. ¡°Would you mind me asking how did you get the nosebleed?¡± She looked away. And my guilt cut in deep. I didn¡¯t know why I had to open my fucking mouth. What I did was stupid and I ended up hurting her when my only intention was to keep her away from that knucklehead. ¡°Megan, I am not a good friend, not even close, and I can¡¯t promise to protect you because I can¡¯t even protect myself, but I hate to see women being hurt especially when I was there and couldn¡¯t do anything.¡± ¡°Is that why you never dated because you don¡¯t have the gut to rip the band-aid off and tell them that you wanna walk out of the rtionship?¡± My eyebrows met. ¡°What made you think I don¡¯t date?¡± She leaned against the doorjamb and crossed her arms over her chest. ¡°First, I never saw you with any women and the boys never noticed you with anyone. Either you kept your women in yourir or you don¡¯t date. With this look, I am sure you¡¯re not a virgin anymore. So, either you have a secret girlfriend or you¡¯re itchy aboutmitment. That makes the two of us, yay!¡± She pinched my arm yfully. My frown deepened. ¡°You guys talked about me?¡± She grinned instead of feeling guilty. ¡°Well, duh. Of course. We thought you¡¯re hot and sexy even though you brood most of the time.¡± ¡°I prefer to keep my personal life private.¡± Her eyebrow lifted. ¡°Why do I feel that you are a secret billionaire?¡± I snorted. ¡°Do I look like a billionaire? If I am, I won¡¯t be working in the nightclub, I probably own one.¡± ¡°Maybe. Keeping a low profile. Or you could be a long lost son of a billionaire who wants nothing to do with his wealth, or maybe you helped a rich spinster. When she died, she left her billions to you.¡± I wished I could tell her who I was, but did it matter? ¡°I hate to break it to you, Megan, but I am not.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t you have any day job?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°You¡¯re actually an interesting person, Forrest. You¡¯re mysterious, yet I can feel that I can trust you. And you¡¯re the only person who never hit on me.¡± Oh, you definitely get that idea wrong, love. ¡°Don¡¯t trust me too much. You might end up disappointed.¡± She burst intoughter. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re maybe a man of a few words, but I know you¡¯re a good guy. You said it yourself that you hate women get hurt.¡± ¡°Goodnight, Megan.¡± *** At my loft, I was staring at the in ceiling for a good hour, watching the car light streaked through the opened window. I chose to go home to the shop than to my apartment. I didn¡¯t know why. Perhaps, I was expecting to have breakfast at the diner again? With Megan. Jesus, I had it bad. The image of her parted lips had my skin burning hot. Those innocent touches while we were watching a movie, her rich voice when sheughed, her curves, and her breasts as I pulled her into my arms when she almost got into an ident. How could I get rid of those images in my head? I realized it wasn¡¯t so hard to get closer to her if I¡¯d done something before. Now I got it why she¡¯d been acting differentlytely; she just lost her job, almost vited by her ex-boss, and harassed by that asshole. I wished she knew me and I wouldn¡¯t have any problem helping her. I groaned in irritation. Everything was keeping me awake. I rubbed my tired eyes. Despite being drained, my brain was spinning a million times. Frustrated, I sat on the edge of the bed and clenched my teeth to shut my mind off. This supercharged fucking sexual frustration with her was messing up my brain. She¡¯s their friend for fuck¡¯s sake. My fixation over her had to end now. An hourter, I was sweating like a pig after I did jumping on the rope and punching a bag¡ªmy body gave up and couldn¡¯t take it anymore. After hitting the shower, I finally felt sleepy. *** The crowd was going crazy tonight and that was what I liked in this evening. I still felt agitated and unable to articte my thoughts though. I mixed the drinks wrongly twice and I almost dropped the bottle of whiskey on my hand when Dice gripped my shoulder asking for my help to prepare orders. My mind kepting back to my n and to Megan. I ignored Dice shooting me a curious look. Then, I noticed Knd walking toward us. ¡°Wood, go to the VIP for a while. I¡¯ll take your ce. Jim cut his finger.¡± Knd immediately got inside the bar and took order before I could refuse. I didn¡¯t know why he was even out here tonight. ¡°Where?¡± ¡°Hughes.¡± The VIP had three lounges named after Hughes, Williams, and Rexwell. I nodded and got out. I passed by the crowd toward the iron-wrought stairs that lead to the VIP. The room was dimmer than the main bar. It had a long C shaped ck leather sofa, ck ss table, and two sofa lounges. The minibar had four stools and a glossy deep red wooden counter. It was filled with expensive and vintage drinks ording to their preferences. ¡°Wood,¡± Pyke called who was leaning on the iron banister. The music was ring inside since the ss window that served as privacy was slid open. ¡°Can I get you a drink?¡± I asked and remained professional even we were friends. My eyes widened and glued on the crowded dance floor. I cursed silently as a twinge of jealousy speared my chest. ¡°Take care of her, Wood. She¡¯s not what you think she is if you get to know her.¡± His warning is almost a whisper that if he didn¡¯t mention my name, I would have thought he was talking to himself. ¡°I¡¯m serious,¡± he added. ¡°What are you talking about?¡± I asked as I watched Megan dancing with a slim guy. With my six foot and three and a half inches height, I could still see his hands on her hips as their body pressed together. My blood boiled in my veins to the way they enjoyed and lost to the music. ¡°Did you sleep with her?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯s any of your business, but I will answer your question no matter how ridiculous it sounds. No.¡± I rushed out of my words because thest thing I wanted was to let him suspect how I was affected by his words. I knew I shouldn¡¯t have been silently lusting over his wife¡¯s best friend for years, but I couldn¡¯t just let it go. I couldn¡¯t resist. If I could, I¡¯d done the first time Iid eyes on her. Sometimes, I questioned my feeling if this was just lust or it went beyond that I had not even realized. ¡°Good to know.¡± ¡°Good to know what?¡± I continued watching Megan and that asshole dancing as if they own the dance floor. Damn it! This was torture. ¡°Now I know why no woman gets your attention because you, Wood, my friend, is apparently in deep trouble with our Meg.¡± Pykeughed boisterously, patting my back in amusement. My head snapped to Pyke who was stillughing at me. ¡°I think you¡¯re insane, Hughes.¡± ¡°Am I now? I¡¯m gonna jump over here if I am lying, man. Wanna bet?¡± Guilty, I broke my gaze from Pyke and searched for Knd instead. When he saw me, I gestured that I needed a break. Knd nodded his head in agreement. I left Pyke without a word, exited to the narrow hallway to a small exit door that led to the rooftop. I inhaled the air deeply and closed my eyes while fishing out the pack of cigarettes in my pocket. I remembered months ago when Megan told me that smoking was not good for me. I lit a stick and inhaled the smoke deeply to my lungs to fasten the effect. I badly needed to calm my nerves. I wondered how did Pyke figure out? I had not told a soul. The iron door squeaked open, making me froze in my ce. ¡°You¡¯re not used to be following advice, are you?¡± ¡°I still remember thest time you told me.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°You seemed to enjoy dancing with your little date.¡± She chuckled. ¡°Did I sense jealousy?¡± ¡°Certainly not. As long as I won¡¯t see you getting hurt again.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s what I thought.¡± She sounded disappointed. Her voice came out a little low. ¡°He must be waiting for you already. You should go down. It¡¯s not safe for you to be here.¡± ¡°I really don¡¯t believe you are this dumb, Forrest.¡± ¡°Well, sorry to break it to you, but I am.¡± ¡°That¡¯s not true.¡± ¡°It seems that you¡¯re okay now.¡± I shrugged and turned to face her. ¡°I think I¡¯m done with ying guilty.¡± For a moment, her beauty distracted me. She was gorgeous. Her hair had the same style, but I didn¡¯t think I would get bored looking at it. Her lips were pressed in a frowned before she spoke. ¡°He¡¯s not my date¡ª¡± ¡°You don¡¯t have to exin. I¡¯m d you¡¯re enjoying your night,¡± I said as I walked toward the door. Before I could reach the exit, she extended her hand to block me, making me stopped and gasped at the sudden touch of her palm on my abdomen. Her scorching touch seeped through my skin like liquid gold. A shudder wracked me. I cursed under my breath. ¡°Damn it, Megan. Don¡¯t do that again!¡± ¡°Tell you what, Forrest. I let this go even I¡¯m a little embarrassed if you answer me the truth.¡± I couldn¡¯t say a word. My mind yed something worse. All I could think was how good her hand felt on my skin as she let it slowly, painfully, torturously caress the path down below my abs. And itpletely conflicted the sensations of pain and pleasure sending straight to my cock. ¡°Does my touch affect you like your mind forms naughty thoughts about me? Or does this make you cringe, Forrest? Tell me.¡± My breathing came out deep and shaky as I turned my head to warn her. ¡°You¡¯re drunk.¡± ¡°Am I?¡± She arched a brow as if challenging me. I looked at her glinty eyes, and she never broke the gaze. I was worried that an ounce of self-control I had left would fail me. ¡°Do you like rough, kinky, or vani? Or do you prefer long forey until a woman begs you to fuck her so hard?¡± As her hand traveled lower to the band of my jeans, I almost panted in anticipation and I could hardly stand the way she was teasing me. Contrasting to a little decency left in my brain, my cock already thickened, quavered, and I was afraid she would go further down. She would definitely get the answer she was looking for. She was testing me, and she got the memo that she already got under my skin. I grabbed the back of her head, dove my fingers in her hair, and stared at her for a fraction of moments. Thinking of the pleasure of us kissing at the rooftop became unbearably painful. Jesus Christ! My heart went wild in anticipation that I could finally kiss her, but I knew her, she¡¯d be ghosting me once she¡¯d be sober in the morning. I pressed my lips on her forehead, closed my eyes, and let her go. ¡°Goodnight, Megan.¡± Chapter 8 A Real 180 Chapter 8 A Real 180 MEGAN Crash and burn. That¡¯s how I see my life today. HIS REJECTION caused me physical pain. No one ever rejected me, in fact, men mostly wanted to stick their dick in me. That was a little bit harsh, but that was the exact truth. I mean, I never pushed myself to anyone just to get their attention, but my bravado has no effect on Forrest. I admired his self-control, and that pissed me off at the same time. And he kissed my forehead. He. Kissed. Me. On. My. Freaking. Forehead. Did I look like his freaking grandma? ¡°Hey! Look at you. So fucking hot!¡± My gay ssmate, Jonas gushed as he dragged me toward the crowd. I was surprised to see him here, but I was kinda d he came all by himself. ¡°So do you. Are you single?¡± Adrenaline rushed through us as we danced to the new song. ¡°Yup but not ready to mingle.¡± He ced his hands on my hips and I raised mine in the air and swayed along with him. ¡°I missed college days, Meg.¡± ¡°Me too. I¡¯m kinda frustrated about this guy right now.¡± ¡°You? Frustrated? Howe? I can¡¯t see you in those circumstances. He should be lucky that he gets your attention.¡± ¡°There¡¯s always a first for everything.¡± ¡°I guess so. So what¡¯s so special about him?¡± ¡°I think I got all his bad luck. I mean if you¡¯ve seen him, he looks so freaking hot. A lot of women wanted to hook-up with him, but he turned them down. Sometimes I thought he¡¯s so loyal to his wife if he¡¯s married and has a family somewhere or he prefers dick than vagina!¡± He barked intoughter. ¡°I would definitely do him because we have the same taste in men, but let¡¯s forget this mystery guy for a while, shall we? I love this song!¡± I copsed into the sofa in frustration. I might have misjudged his gesture. Of course, I did. He saved and came to me to clear out his guilt. Because of him, that suckass Asher took his revenge on poor me, and that was Forrest had been doing all this time. I groaned to myself. I should be pulling off that big girl pants and searching for a job, and not trying to flirt with Forrest because he certainly not into me. The ship had sailed. If he ever did, he should have done that a long time ago. I felt like a desperate bitch. My phone vibrated. Lately, I felt excited when it did because no one had ever tried to remember calling me at this time. When I looked at the screen, it was not who I expected it to be. FORREST: Did you get home safe? I rolled my eyes before I type my reply. NO. Why do you even care? I was dragged by a gargantuan spider in the alley, bit me, and imprisoned me with its gross and sticky web. Now, I¡¯m dying. Lonely. And it¡¯s all because of you. I erased it because it sounded bitter. I was even surprised that he wasted his precious time to check out on me. So self-righteous of him. I betted he couldn¡¯t sleep tonight if he wouldn¡¯t do that. Finally, I sent a reply. Hopefully, he would sense my sarcasm. But Forrest was Forrest. He had thick- skinned. ME: Are you getting softie on me now, Forrest? FORREST: Are you home? Jeez, he¡¯s annoying. I could even feel him groaning. ME: Yes, dad. FORREST: Good. My brow arched. That''s it? ying hard to get, I see. I wore my shorts and my tank top and went to bed. I tucked my nket under my chin, feeling down after reying his rejection all over again. This was all my fault why I was alone. I pushed all men who wanted more than just sex with me. I thought that was their way to have free sex. That was what mostly they wanted though. So I preferred just hook-ups. Now, I was left alone, still, amitment-phobic, emotionally unavable cold bitch and might have forgotten by friends for good. The moment I closed my eyes, the hot brooding Forrest was like a sledgehammer to my gut. Visions of his strong arms wrapped around me, his soft and cigarette smelled lips pressed against my forehead started to assault my mind. I usually turned off by men who smoked, but with him, I didn¡¯t give a damn. I thought he was sexy smoking. Sometimes, I wondered the reason behind it. He was just mysterious that no one got into him. I opened my eyes again and groaned. I felt pathetic. He didn¡¯t like me. He might have thought he was a pawn to my sexual exploits. Well, he was hot and sexy. I thought of him a lot of times if he looked hotter naked, if he was good with his mouth, his tongue, or if he was well-hung. Of course, he was. He didn¡¯t have to show it off. I was sure he fucked hard because judging by the way he looked he didn¡¯t seem to go easy on women when it came to sex. Excellent judgment, Megan. You¡¯re way more pathetic right now. I closed my eyes again and pulled the nket above my head. This was going nowhere. I needed to sleep and forgot him for good. Heat enveloped my body. My lust over him consumed and controlled me entirely. I shoved my hand into my shorts, rubbed my clit as I thought of the dark eyes looking down on me. I lost control. I moved my finger in a circr motion. We were started to breathe heavily, and I could sense the sexual tension ricocheting between us filling the room. My heart started to pound as I imagined his strong muscles pumping his erect, thick, and taut length as we moved in rhythm. He was watching me like a hawk to its prey all the time as I fingered myself. I was instantly wet, slicked, and my clit became more sensitive. I continued rubbing my hardened nub and bit my lip to stifle my moan, but my muscles were quivering everywhere, and I was writhing with intense pleasure. ¡°Don¡¯t stop.¡± Soon he groaned, and I quickened my finger. His stare glued at me, his eyes were burning with lust and desires, sending a ball of inferno racing through me. Original content from N?velDrama.Org. I felt like my lungs were running out of oxygen as I continued pumping my finger in and out of my soaked pussy as if I couldn¡¯t help myself and I would lose my mind if I stopped. ¡°Oh god.¡± My heart went overdrive. My hips backed. My head threw against the pillow as I was immediately consumed by my pending orgasm and his presence. ¡°Look at me, Megan.¡± Forrest was pumping faster, sweat breaking across his forehead. Muscles were straining and clenching on his arms. He was breathing through his nose, but he kept his searing gaze on me as we determined to fall into the abyss of bliss together. I inhaled sharply, violently shaking as I sumbed to the strong orgasm I had never felt before. *** I woke up to the constant ringing of my phone. Still half-asleep, I answered, ¡°Hello.¡± ¡°Ms. Simons?¡± I remembered her voice. The HR officer from Hitchcliff Associates. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s me. Just Megan, please? Tell me it¡¯s good news?¡± I was already sitting on my bed, literally grinning. She sighed. ¡°Megan, I¡¯m sorry, but we found someone who fits for the position...¡± I thought my body numbed. I couldn¡¯t remember hanging up the call. When this despair would be over? I had only one choice left for the meantime. It was time to throw away my pride. ¡°Is the job offer still stand?¡± I asked my mother over the phone. ¡°Of course, Meggie. I am only waiting for your call,¡± Mom replied immediately. ¡°You cane over this afternoon so that Beth can fill you in. She¡¯s been having back pain for two days now.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be there. Thanks.¡± ¡°Meg, how about dinner?¡± ¡°Mom¡ª¡± ¡°I understand, honey.¡± I closed my eyes as I felt her disappointment. Every time I saw Mom, she only reminded me of the awful things I¡¯d done to our family. Those were the only things I couldn¡¯t forget, maybe because I hadn¡¯t forgiven myself. In the afternoon, I reported early to impress. This might not be permanent, but I had bills to pay. ¡°Here are the lists of patients for appointments. Dr. Reed should be free by this time. Her lunch break. VIP patients¡¯ appointments are ording to their free time as long as it won¡¯t ovep with regr patients. You wouldn¡¯t have problems anyway. They prefer at night.¡± Pregnant Beth tapped the calendar on the tablet as I rechecked the schedule on the desktop. ¡°I used to take note, just in case.¡± ¡°I will do the same.¡± I smiled at her. ¡°Great. Here¡¯s my number if you want to inquire something.¡± She showed me herndline and her personal numbers saved on the Contact. ¡°Thanks, but you better prepare to be a mom. Is this your first?¡± I rubbed her huge belly. She propped her hands at her back and grimaced. ¡°My third.¡± My eyes widened in surprise, causing her tough at my reaction. ¡°I hope you¡¯ll have kids someday. It feels amazing, Megan.¡± Her words made me swallow. ¡°Maybe one day.¡± Once Beth was gone, I checked through the schedule of which patients had a schedule today. Terrible things happened, my views on marriage changed. I thought rtionships, loving someone would just bring pain and misery. I picked up the phone when it rang. ¡°Dr. Diana Reed Clinic, good afternoon.¡± ¡°Hi, good afternoon. Can I have an appointment at the same time?¡± ¡°Your name please?¡± I grabbed the pen and the note Beth gave me earlier. ¡°You must be new.¡± ¡°Yes. I am. Wish me luck, and this is my first day.¡± ¡°Is Beth okay?¡± ¡°She¡¯s okay, but took an early leave. Your name, mister?¡± ¡°Forrest Wood.¡± I froze and trembled. I might have gasped. My hand was gripping tightly around the phone handle as I thought of what to answer. How could I not recognize his voice instantly? I caught my lip between my teeth to prevent myself from telling him who I was. ¡°Hello?¡± ¡°Yes. Yes. Um.¡± Am I gonna tell him who I am or not? ¡°Sorry, you¡¯re new. I used to have an eleven a.m appointment with Dr. Reed.¡± ¡°Right. Tomorrow at eleven, Mr. Wood.¡± I screwed my face. Calling him Mr. Wood didn¡¯t feel right, but I should get used to him being my mom¡¯s patient. How would he react when he saw me tomorrow morning? Oh god! He was right, our world was getting smaller for the two of us. ¡°Thanks. Bye.¡± There were two more calls for appointments I listed. Before I could turn off the desktop, my mother walked out of her room. ¡°Meg, just email me the list, okay?¡± I met her gaze, and she looked tired. ¡°Are you okay, Mom?¡± She forced a smile, but she still looked beautiful and looked professional in her outfit. ¡°I took a painkiller. It¡¯s just a headache. So how¡¯s your first day?¡± ¡°Fast?¡± I smiled. ¡°Thanks for giving me this job.¡± ¡°I¡¯m d you epted it. We may not be able to talk frequently, at least I know you are just right outside this door.¡± ¡°Maybe we can have lunch together sometimes?¡± ¡°I would love that, Meggie.¡± Mom touched my face. I leaned on her hand and felt it. Three years since thest time we had this kind of talk. Since I walked out of her home for goodbye, I never came to visit her even holidays. We exchanged gifts, but she respected my decisions about not seeing each other until I was ready. ¡°Looking forward.¡± I gripped her hand, and I didn¡¯t realize how much I missed it. ¡°You should go now.¡± Sheughed softly. ¡°Yeah. For my first day, I got a little excited.¡± I grabbed my bag. ¡°Um, Mom?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± She wore her coat. I realized I couldn¡¯t ask her. ¡°Nothing. Just take care.¡± ¡°You, too, Meggie.¡± *** I ended up eating instant noodles for my dinner, then I copsed to my couch to watch a rerun when my phone vibrated. I startled on my seat to see the caller ID on my screen. I wanted to beam and flinch at the same time when I remembered about his call this afternoon, nevertheless, he would find out tomorrow. ¡°Forrest?¡± ¡°Did you find a job?¡± ¡°Good evening.¡± I smiled. ¡°Sorry. Evening.¡± ¡°Yes. A temporary, until I find a permanent one. Why? Are you gonna hire me to be your housemaid?¡± ¡°What is yourst job?¡± ¡°What job can you offer? I can be a belly dancer. I was in a dance club in high school. I¡¯m good at pool dancing, I can be a stripper or your personal servant. Oh, I can make an excellent omelet without burning the whole house.¡± Iughed, and I didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Jesus, Megan.¡± I could feel he was clenching his jaw on the other line. ¡°You hurt my ego, Forrest. Then I realized you¡¯re just trying to get rid of your guilt. So are you gonna offer me a job? Don¡¯t you think nepotism would ruin your holier-than-thou self?¡± There was a moment of silence between us and I couldn¡¯t open my mouth to talk anymore. ¡°What do you want from me, Megan?¡± A violent rush of anger filled my veins. I drew a bracing breath before I answer. ¡°Fuck you! Fuck your kindness! You are the one who messed up with that man in the bar and made hime after me. I even protected your good reputation from him. You are the one who came to the parking lot, saved me from the passing car, which I never told you to save my ass. You didn¡¯t turn me down when I invited you for breakfast, you came to my apartment with pizza and spent dinner with me. You even watched the sappiest movie and neverined. Last night you kissed me and sent me a text asking if I got home safe.¡± ¡°Megan¡ª¡± ¡°No. You fucking shut up when I¡¯m talking. I¡¯m done being nice with your temperamental and assholishness attitude. Now, you tell me, Forrest, why all of a sudden you see me? Aside from my sparkling personality and my miserable life, what is it that you want from me?¡± ¡°Meg¡ª¡± ¡°A little advice from a friend, Forrest. Stay away from me. Maybe you should stick back your head in your ass.¡± The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!