Afflicted (6 page)

I put the car in reverse and flew out of the driveway
toward Duke’s Bar. Looking down at the speedometer I noticed that I was doing 70 in third gear without even feeling it. This car was going to get me a lot of tickets.

We drove along
Main Street to the other side of town before pulling into the log cabin bar. Pushing Piper out of my mind I shut the car off and headed for the door with a fist full of fifties and Derek as my wingman, just like old times.

The bar smelled of stale beer
, cheap perfume and grease. We meandered through the crowd and headed up to the counter, ordering us each a beer and a tequila shot. I sucked down the shot enjoying the burn it caused.

Derek was casing the bar for hotties, his usual MO
, when suddenly a small group came up. The one was a blonde bombshell, my usual type. The other was a brunette, a little on the chunky side, but still cute. The last girl had dark hair and glasses. She looked like a sexy librarian. Derek and I shared a profound look knowing exactly how we were going to divide. I got the blonde, and he got the rest.

“I’m Lola.” The blonde said.
Sure you are…

“Blake.” I said with a grin.

“I know.” She winked.

Looks like we have groupies everywhere.

“Where are you from, Lola?” I asked, making small talk.

“I’m originally from Jackson, which is about an hour away, but I moved here about four months ago to start up my salon.”

I looked at her shoulder length, bleach blonde hair and impeccable make-up. The salon assessment seemed to be dead on.

I
was ordering us another shot when she climbed up on a stool and lay flat on the bar, lifting up her shirt in the process. She professed that it was ‘body shot’ time. The bartender poured the tequila into a glass and set it down on her midsection. He then proceeded to put a piece of lime of lime in her mouth and a line of salt on her chest. I was game. The crowd started chanting as I lowered my head and quickly lifted the shot without using my hands. I moved to lick the salt and take the lime. I pulled her to a sitting position and spit the lime off to the side. I kissed her and bad boy Blake was back with a vengeance. Derek and I made eye contact and nodded in approval. I’m sure he was just as happy as I was.

“Wanna go back to my place?” Lola asked
, seductively chewing on her lip.

This
was perfect for me since it meant that I wouldn’t have to worry about getting rid of her afterward. I gave her a slight nod and took her hand. After checking with Derek to make sure he was good, we made our way through the bar to the exit. I hit the unlock button and opened the door for her before getting into the driver’s seat. I turned the ignition seriously loving the purr that my car made. I asked her which way to turn, and we were off.

Ten minutes later we pulled up to a tiny
, white house. Following her up the short stone walkway I saw a neighbor moving a curtain and peering out at us making her stick her tongue out at her. She pushed open the red door and flicked on a light switch. The room was all white, apart from a red accent wall that showcased a white, brick fireplace. It held a red sofa, two red and white polka dot chairs and a small flat-screen TV off in the corner. Mahogany floors spanned throughout the tiny home. There was a small kitchen in the same red and white theme with pops of black.

Leading me down the hallway to
her room she turned on the light. The walls were cream with vertical white stripes. She had a queen size bed with a dark gray, upholstered headboard and mirrored dressers. She shimmied out of her skirt and tossed her tank top into the laundry basket. She looked hot as fuck standing in front of me in a pair of pale, lace panties and a matching bra. I walked over to her and ran my hands over the edge of her bra cups pulling them down slightly exposing her rosy nipples. I dropped my head and took a swipe with my tongue. Bam-bam finally found his brain again, and was rearing and ready to get some action.

I
pulled my shirt off and just as I was reaching into my pocket to grab a condom from my wallet my phone started vibrating. I pulled it out to decline the call when I saw the name on the screen. Piper.

What a fucking predicament!

I looked at Lola and all her smoking hotness, then back at my phone. Fuck! Bam-bam was already starting to deflate, so I decided to answer the call.

CHAPTER THREE

Heartlines

“Hey.” I said, looking at an annoyed Lola.

“Blake. Thank god you
answered.” She said in a rush.

“Is everything okay?” I asked, knowing damn well that something was wrong
since it was almost midnight and she’s barely said more than five words to me in months.

“No,
I can’t call Jake or Aubrey because they have their hands full. It’s Cole. We were fine, better than fine, and now he’s gone again. I don’t know why he left, but it’s not like the other times. I’m seriously worried, Blake.”

“Wha
t do you want me to do?” I asked confused.

I heard her whimper
, and it was like a knife to my heart. “I don’t know. I’m sorry I called.”

“Pipe, I’ll help you. I just don’t know what you expect me to do.” Lola was looking
at me with daggers in her eyes. So much for being a sweet hair-stylist, I was waiting for her to stab me with scissors. “I’ll be there in a few. Just hang tight until I get there.”

I disconnect
ed the call and put my shirt back on.

“Aren’t you supposed to
be a infamous sex icon?” Lola asked.

“I am. I just need to be somewhere else right now
… I’m really sorry that I ruined your night.” I apologized making sure that my keys were in my hand in order to ensure a quick escape if she tried to come after me.

Hurrying through
the living room and out the front door I practically sprinted to my car until I was safely inside. I proceeded to peel out of the driveway seeing the same nosey neighbor peeking out the window at me. I sped to the other side of town until I pulled into Piper’s driveway. Hopping out of the car I made my way up the sidewalk. I was getting ready to knock when she opened the door with a tear stained face. Opening my arms I pulled her into an embrace. She was hurting, and she was my friend above all else right now.

I picked her up slightly so that I could
close the door behind us. Leading her over to the sofa I sat her down next to me. She was really starting to sob now. I wasn’t a complete asshole, but I also wasn’t quite sure how to comfort her either. In a last ditch effort, I did what I used to do for my sister, Joss, when she would break up with her boyfriend. I rubbed her hair and let her get it out, figuring she’d offer information when she was ready.

“I-I’m sorry.” She choked. “I didn’t know who else to call.”

“Shhh. It’s okay.” I soothed, handing her a tissue from the table. “Now what the hell happened?”

“I don’t know.
Tonight I actually felt like we made some headway. Things were going good for the first time in months. We went to bed and when I woke up to go to the bathroom he was gone. He took a bag with some of his things, too. I’m seriously worried Blake, something just feels off.”

I did my best to console her while trying to think of something that I could do to
help her, and hopefully find Cole. I didn’t know too much about him other than the very little she offered and what Jake told me. I knew that they got back together on and off enough to give someone whiplash and that he is an ex-Marine, but not much else.

“He’s prone to taking off for days a time, but lately it’s becoming more frequent.” She cried. “Then after dinner he told me that he was willing to walk away if it’s what I wanted. He thought that I wanted to leave him for you.”

“We’ll find him, Pipe. Have you tried calling his friends?” I asked, and she shook her head no.

We started making calls to his friends an
d “so-called friends” that were just supplying him with his out. No one had seen or heard from him. Even if they did, they weren’t going to tell us anyway. I told her to grab a pair of shoes and that we would start driving around to see if we spotted her car anywhere. I could tell that she was exhausted, so I helped her into the car and hit the mini mart to grab us a couple sludge coffees.

Handing her one
, I pulled back onto the main road heading out of town. We drove all around the surrounding towns for over two hours. Piper repeatedly called him, and it continued to go right to voicemail. My eyelids were starting to get heavy, and I was fighting the urge to sleep.

“Pipe, I can’t keep driving. I can barely keep my eyes open.”

“I think there is a hotel up the road a little ways. We can stop there and rest.” She said with a yawn.

Pulling
into the nearest motel I went into the office and got us a room for the night. I opened the door and flicked on the light switch. There were two queen-sized beds covered in floral bedspreads, each with a bedside table and yellow lamp. I headed to the bathroom to take a piss. My mind was so clouded from exhaustion that I could barely think straight. When I came out, Piper went in. I kicked off my shoes and folded up the rest of my clothes leaving just my boxers on and climbed into bed. She came out of the bathroom looking like a lost puppy. She took her shoes off wordlessly and climbed into the other bed.

“Night, Blake.” She whispered.

“Sweet dreams, Pipe.” I turned on my side facing away from her and closed my eyes.

I was just about to fall asleep when I heard her start crying
again. I wanted to let it go, but I truly did love her and the thought of her in any sort of pain tore me up. It didn’t matter if she didn’t feel the same way. That was my fault, not hers. She didn’t ask me to fall in love with her, it just happened. I turned to face her and saw her body shaking from the sobs. Climbing out of bed I walked over and ran my fingers through her hair again. Just touching her sent a wave of electricity coursing through me. I was getting a small taste of what I would never have. Doing my best to soothe her, I watched the minutes tick by on the clock. At 3:30, she finally stopped. Utterly exhausted, I made my way quietly back to my bed and climbed in, closing my eyes.

The next morning I woke up feeling warm
er than normal. Looking down I saw Piper snuggled up in front of me.
How the hell did I not feel her climb into bed with me?
Whatever her reasoning was I didn’t want to move. She was so soft and warm. It was times like this that I missed having an actual girlfriend, but after what happened with Rowan I didn’t want to feel that kind of pain or rejection ever again. Knowing that Piper was off limits made it even shittier, since she was the one girl that I could totally see myself settling down with.

Forcing myself to climb out of bed
, I grabbed my clothes and headed into the bathroom. I looked in the mirror and splashed some water on my face. I knew that I was decent looking and even though I slept around I wasn’t a womanizer. I respected them; they just couldn’t be trusted.

Pulling my shirt over my head I heard the door open.
Piper walked in and sat on the toilet to pee.

“Morning.” She mumbled with her eyes practically still closed.

“Morning, Pipe.” I laughed at her shamelessness. I didn’t want to mention anything about her climbing into bed since it was an awkward enough situation as it was.

I finished getting d
ressed and left her to finish her business. She came out a couple minutes later looking like a mess. I told her to finish getting ready while I brought the key back to the office and to meet me at the car when she was finished. I stuck the key into the return box and headed to my car. Climbing into the driver’s side I leaned my head against the steering wheel in an attempt to collect my racing thoughts. I looked over when I saw Piper get in.

She hugged her knees to her chest as
I pulled onto the road and headed back toward Smithville. We stopped and got gas before heading to the golden arches for some gourmet breakfast. We were about half way back when Piper finally broke the silence.

“Blake,” S
he said looking over at me. “I’m tremendously sorry that I dragged you into this. It was wrong of me to call you last night. Thanks for everything.”

It almost sounded like she was trying to say goodbye.

“Okay
, let’s get a couple things straight. First, you didn’t drag me into anything. You’re my friend, regardless of what the context is, and I care about you. If you need me I don’t care what time it is, or where you are, just call me, and I’m there. I know you’re with Cole, but there’s no mistaking the chemistry we have. I just want you to be happy, Piper. The first night we met was after the show in Pittsburgh, and I immediately wanted to know who you were, I still feel that way. You were different, and something about you just pulls me in, I can’t explain it. It’s hard for me to watch you hurting like this. Just know I’ve got your back no matter what, okay?”

She shook her head and started sobbing.
She was so much more broken than she was six months ago.

“I love him. I
truly do. I just don’t know how to help him. We’ve been together for the better part of eight years, and he was
not
like this before he left. I mean he had a lot of issues, but he was funny and kind. We had sex last night, and everything seemed to be falling back in place, and now he’s gone again. I can’t take this anymore. He promised me.”