Phil Laurent
“Don’t stay too late. We need to be at La Tease at eight-thirty so we don’t ruin the surprise.” Laura Aimee stood in the doorway of my office with her coat on and her purse over her shoulder. Claire Whitfield was turning thirty-five, and her boyfriend Ethan Knight was throwing her a surprise party with all our closest friends.
I shut my laptop and grabbed my laptop bag. “I’m going now. Drop me off at my place on your way home?”
“Sure. Blake’s waiting downstairs.” Blake Montgomery was Laura’s fiancé.
I walked over to her and turned off my office light. We headed down the hall and got into the elevator.
“I’m so glad it’s a long weekend,” I told Laura. “This merger’s been killing me.”
She nodded. “Yeah, I told Blake not to let me open my laptop.”
“I wish I had someone that could hold me accountable to that. These guys over in London are seriously killing me with their time zone.”
She laughed. “Don’t answer the phone, Phil. Whatever you do, don't answer it. Put it in the freezer until Monday comes.”
“Unfortunately, Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday in England, so I think I’m screwed. But at least other client issues shouldn’t be popping up.”
“At least there’s lots of parties planned over the weekend. We’ll keep you in the fun zone.”
I laughed. “I’m good with that.”
The elevator stopped, and we stepped into the lobby and walked to the car.
Blake got out and kissed Laura on the cheek. “Hey, Sweetheart.”
She smiled at him. “Hey. We’re going to give Phil a ride home.”
“Hey, Phil. My chariot awaits.” He made a sweeping motion with his hand.
I grinned and got in. “Thanks.”
Once we were all in the car, Laura turned toward me. “So, what did you get Claire for her birthday?”
“Not telling.”
“Is it a secret?”
“Yep.”
“We can keep secrets,” Blake drawled.
“Sorry, it’s just between us.”
Laura gave me a pouty face. There was no way I was telling her, and it was going to drive her crazy.
I turned toward Blake. “Your numbers on Caseline look really great to go public. I definitely want in.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have all the final papers sent over to you after the holiday weekend.”
The car stopped. “Deal. See you both tonight. Thanks for the ride.” I opened the door, got out, looked at my watch, and saw I had about an hour to shower, change, and get to La Tease. I sighed.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to go to the party, but it had been a long week. I needed to let off some steam, and the party at La Tease just meant it was going to be that much longer before I could.
My friends were almost all coupled up, and while I loved every one of them, I needed to get laid. This merger had me tied to my phone and computer, and it had been a few weeks since I’d gotten out of the office or house.
Normally I would be more than happy to spend the evening hanging out with the gang, and then later, when everyone was heading home, I could go off to my secret life.
My secret life was where I could fuck and experiment with an endless supply of women.
The crazy part was my friends all thought I was a straight-up goody two shoes and had no game. Laura and the CEO of Marko Enterprises, Tom Marko, ribbed me with dad jokes any chance they got. I was only a few years older than them, but they had a running joke. Everyone saw me as responsible and boring. I was pretty sure of it.
It wasn’t that I wasn’t responsible. I was. I made things happen professionally and took my job seriously. I worked long hours and didn’t complain. And I loved what I did. But my friends had no clue what I really did late at night.
Yes, it had been a few weeks since I’d had any action, and that hadn’t been that great. What normally would have satiated me, didn’t; my balls were starting to ache.
If I had to be honest, my aching balls weren’t due to a lack of sex. The real culprit was her.
Two months ago, I had the most amazing night ever with the woman of my dreams. Sophie—known to everyone else as Carlotta Ensign, the uber-talented singer—fucked my brains out until she fell asleep from exhaustion. Okay, maybe I fucked her brains out.
I fell asleep myself, only to wake up with a call from London over the pending merger we were involved in. So I did something I never do—I wrote her a note that she knew where to find me and left it up to her whether or not she would want to see me again.
She didn’t come find me.
Over the last two months, I’d spent time in my normal underground sex clubs and a few high-end sex parties trying to fuck the memory of her out of my mind.
I even fucked another woman with pink hair, thinking it would solve the issue. I couldn’t cum with her and struggled to stay hard. Something that had never happened before.
No matter what I tried, I couldn’t shake her. She flooded my dreams. Her songs were everywhere I went, and every time I heard her voice, I thought about her sexy whimpering or the way she’d called out my name all night. The worst was when I would turn on the TV or see her in the tabloids with good-looking guys on her arm and a smile on her face. It was pure torture.
And I never cared about women being with other men. I didn't do relationships, and I didn't get jealous.
Quickly, I rode up the elevator, went into my apartment, and jumped in the shower and got ready. I grabbed Claire’s gift and headed over to the party. On the way, I started thinking of how I could gracefully excuse myself before the party ended. I needed to release some steam, and the sooner I could release her from my memories, the better.
Tom's foster brother, Kip Carter, owned La Tease, and he had closed the restaurant for the party. I rushed into the party right at eight-thirty. I scanned the room and assumed I was the last one to arrive.
After I put my present down on the table, I walked over to the bar where Tom was standing.
“Hey Phil, you have to try this pinot.” He handed me a glass.
Pinot. That’s what she drinks.
“Thanks.” As if to torture myself, I put the glass up to my nose and inhaled. Memories of our night together flashed into my head.
Her tongue tasted like blackberries when I kissed her. God, her tongue was the most delicious tongue I had ever tasted and sent volts through my spine. Sophie Cradle knew how to use her tongue better than anyone I had ever been with, and it had frolicked all over my body while teasing my nerves all night.
I took a sip and put my dick in further agony.
Tom’s wife Liv came up to me, and I kissed her on the cheek. “How’s it going, Liv?”
She smiled at me. “Good, now that it’s the long weekend. I’ve been looking forward to not working.”
I chuckled. “Me too, but I don’t think London is going to leave me alone.”
“Throw your phone in the freezer till Monday,” Tom cut in.
I gave him a strange look. “Do you and Laura have a bet to see if I actually throw my phone in the freezer?”
He laughed. “No, but I’m kind of upset we didn’t think of that. Why?”
“She just said the same thing to me.”
“Well, you need a break, too, Phil. London will wait.” Liv shot me a concerned glance and patted my arm.
“Phil, take the weekend off,” Tom ordered. “You’ve earned it. It’s the holiday.”
“I’ll try to remember that.”
Meg and Collin Corwin came over. I talked with them for a few minutes, and then I walked over to Keri James, Sam Quinto, and Derek Derow.
“Phil, there’s a party at Charlie Cantor’s tonight. You want to go?” Keri asked me.
Charlie Cantor was another Volts player. He was in his twenties, and although I was sure it would be a good party, I needed to make sure I got what I needed. I didn’t need to play the maybe-I’ll-get-laid, maybe-I-won’t game.
“Thanks, but I’m overloaded with this merger. I’ve got more work to do tonight.”
Sam was about to say something, but Maddie told us all we needed to be quiet because Claire was coming.
We all got quiet, and Claire and Ethan walked in.
“Surprise! Happy birthday!” we all yelled, and blew noisemakers.
Claire was surprised and glanced around the room, smiling. She turned to Ethan. “Did you plan this?”
“Yep.”
She pulled Ethan into a massive kiss. He grinned at her like a teenager.
I smiled. Ethan, Claire, and I had become good friends over the last few months. Even though I was super busy, the three of us had a text chain of different jokes, and it was almost daily that I heard from them.
Figuring I would go to say happy birthday to Claire once the crowd around her died down, I went to get another drink, and that’s when I saw her. I was only five feet from her when she took a step back. Her body had been hidden by Collin’s large frame, and her hair was no longer pink. It was now electric blue, and she looked like she was glowing in her navy blue, sequin mini-dress and stilettos that matched her hair color.
My balls ached once more.
She turned toward me and looked at me in surprise as the smell of cherries, tonka, and cedar rushed through my senses. The magnetic pull we’d had the first night we met was back.
“Phil.”
“Sophie.”
“I didn’t know you would be here.” She licked her lips at me.
“I didn’t know you would be here.” I stepped forward. Her glass was nearly empty. “Another pinot?”
“Sure.” She handed me her glass, and I walked a few feet farther to the bar. I set both our goblets down. “Two pinots, please.”
Sophie stepped right next to me. She was so close I could feel the heat from her body. My pants suddenly felt very restrictive.
The bartender handed me the drinks, and I gave one to her. “How’ve you been, Sophie?”
“Busy. Work’s been crazy with the new album promotion.”
Hmm. Is that why she didn’t come find me?
“How’s that going?”
“Fine... Good... Great, I guess.” She took a sip. She seemed a bit...nervous?
“I’m not surprised. Your songs seem to be playing everywhere I go.” I smiled at her.
“That’s good to hear.” She gave me a humble smile.
“You changed your hair.”
She shrugged.
I leaned into her and whispered, “It looks good, but then, you look good with anything on or off you.”
She turned her face up so her lips were about two inches from mine. I held myself back from bending down those two inches and kissing her.
She scanned my eyes and coolly whispered back, “Thanks for letting me know you’re imagining me naked.” She winked, stepped away from me, and walked over to Ethan and Claire, but not before slightly brushing her pert ass against my hard cock.
Fuck!
Putting my drink down, I went to the men’s room, threw some cold water on my face, and wiped it off with a paper towel. My dick was throbbing.
I needed to go back out there and stay as far away from Sophie as possible. I shouldn’t have said that to her. She could have come found me, and didn’t. It was clear it was a one-night thing, and that was all she was interested in. We had the same friends, and I didn’t need to be drooling over her every time we had an event.
You don’t do relationships, so what are you doing, anyway?
I needed to get through dinner and hightail it out of there as soon as the cake came out.
I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. You can do this, Phil.
I walked back out to the restaurant.
You’ve got to be kidding me.
I looked around. Dinner was starting to be served, and everyone was seated at the large square arrangement of tables that had been created for us. The last remaining seat was on the corner, right next to Sophie.
Liv sat in the next seat and smiled at me. “Saved you a seat, Phil.”
“Thanks.” Ugh! Liv! I went over to where Claire sat, leaned down, and kissed her on the cheek. "Happy birthday!"
She smiled at me. "Hey, Phil! Thanks."
Turning back toward the only available seat, I walked over and sat down. My pulse increased once more, and my mouth went dry. Ethan sat on the other side of Sophie. She stopped talking to him, turned, and stared at me with her intense eyes.
“Phil, how’s it going?” Ethan reached over and slapped my hand.
“Good.”
“Merger still keeping you busy?”
“You have no idea. I’m ready to blow off some steam this weekend.”
“We all told him to put his phone in the freezer until Monday,” Liv chimed in.
“I’m tempted. The London team is full of a bunch of bastards.”
Ethan laughed.
Claire turned to Ethan and pulled him into a conversation she was having with Maddie.
“So Phil, what will you be doing to blow off some steam?” Sophie slowly licked her lips at me.
I could be doing you. Stay cool, Phil.
I shrugged and stared at her eyes. “Oh, you know, Sophie—whatever comes up.”
She actually looked down at my dick, then slowly back up to my eyes. “Hmm,” she murmured.
I was sure my dick was sticking straight up, but I wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of looking. Thank God Liv was sitting around the corner seat and not directly next to me.
The waitress set the first course down, and I opened my napkin and put it on my lap, hoping it would hide my hard-on. I continued not to look down, but I could feel it pulsing against my zipper.
Sophie leaned over to me when the waitress set Ethan’s food down. The scent of cherries, along with tonka and cedar, filled my nostrils once again.
It didn’t help my dick dilemma. I took a big gulp of water and looked at her. “Busy weekend?”
“Some work, but mostly parties. Maybe you should come along and let off some steam.” She gave me a wicked grin and licked her lips at me again.
Her tongue that had licked every inch of my body during our wild night together was driving me nuts. As much as I wished she would keep it in her mouth, I was like a junkie drooling to see it more. I was pretty sure I was drooling.
“What do you say, Phil?”
Crap. She was waiting for an answer. Was she talking about parties that I was already going to with the gang, or something different?
“I have a feeling we’re probably going to be at some of the same parties.” I casually pointed around the room.
“Not all of them.” She leaned into me and seductively murmured in my ear. She was so close I could feel her breath. My earlobe started pulsing, waiting for her to suck it.
No woman had ever made my earlobe pulse before.
“Maybe after dinner we should excuse ourselves, and I should show you where I go to let off some steam,” I quietly responded to her, and instantly regretted it. The places I went to weren’t exactly places you brought guests, nor had I ever disclosed to anyone what I was into or where I went.
“I’m free tonight, so count me in,” she said quickly, with no hesitation.
Oh crap! My pulse started beating in my neck. I took another long sip of water and tried to concentrate on my food, but my mind raced with how to get out of taking Sophie to the underground club I was planning on attending that night. I would be happy just taking her home, but I’d opened Pandora's box and wasn’t sure how to get out of it.
The rest of the dinner, I concentrated on talking to Liv and limiting my conversation with Sophie. My dick started to relax by the time dinner was over, and I was no longer scared to stand up. I’d just decided I would fake a call from London and get out of taking Sophie with me when Laura got up, walked to the gift table, grabbed my gift, and handed it to Claire.
“Phil wouldn’t tell Blake and me what this is, so I think you need to open it.”
“Laura!” My eyes widened, and I shook my head at her.
She smirked at me.
“Claire, open it when you get home.” I could already feel the heat rising in my neck.
Claire looked over at me, raised an eyebrow, and started to open the package. “Now I have to open it.”
This is not my night.
My gift was meant to be a private joke between Claire, Ethan, and me. My face started to redden, and I wanted to crawl under the table. I was going to kill Laura. When I threw her a dirty look, she just smirked at me.
Claire opened the box, looked over at me, and started cracking up. She pulled out two CDs, one best hits country and one classic rock. Next, she pulled out a five-by-eight framed photo that Ethan had taken on the jet during our trip back from Vegas. I wore boxers and had lipstick marks all over my body. I had signed it. And finally, she pulled out a pink wig.
I want to die.
The night I met Sophie, Claire told me she assumed I would be a country or old-school rock fan, and wouldn’t be into Sophie because she had pink hair. Ethan took the picture after Meg and Laura pulled me out of my Vegas hotel room. I was pretty drunk and having a private party with three girls I’d met. I had it framed because Claire showed it to all of our friends, and I never heard the end of it. From time to time during our text conversations, the picture would pop up. She even created private GIFs just for our text messages.
Claire and Ethan both laughed so hard tears fell down their faces. As everyone started asking the meaning behind the gifts, Sophie scowled at me.
I should have been the most embarrassed about the photo, but somehow I knew the pink wig had offended her. She thought I was making fun of her.
Sophie threw her napkin down, got up, and started to walk out of the room. I quickly stood up and went after her, but not before I saw Ethan stop laughing out of the corner of my eye.
Sophie was quick on her feet and bolted out the front door.
I got outside and called out, “Sophie!”
She walked down the street, and her bodyguards were on her heels.
“Sophie, stop.” I tried to grab her arm, but the bodyguard stepped in front of me.
“Phil, don’t touch her.”
I nodded and threw my hands in the air to her bodyguard Isaac, who I knew because I was technically his boss. But his number one priority was to protect her, and that included beating me to a pulp if I didn’t heed his warnings.
She increased her speed and started walking faster.
“Sophie, you’re assuming something that isn’t right!”
She stopped, turned, and motioned for her bodyguards to step aside. She stepped right up to me. “What am I assuming?”
“That my gift was meant to make fun of you.”
She laughed sarcastically. “And what exactly was it meant to do?”
I grabbed her shoulder.
“Phil, don’t touch her,” Isaac warned me again.
I threw my hands in the air once again.
“Isaac, it’s fine,” she told him.
I pulled her off the sidewalk and into an alley so we weren’t in the way of the other pedestrians.
Her bodyguards started to follow. She motioned them to stay back.
I moved her up against the wall and stood in front of her. “It was meant to be a private joke between Ethan, Claire, and me. You know Ethan would never make fun of you or let anyone else do so, so please believe me.”
Sophie took a deep breath. She couldn’t argue with that. She and Ethan were very good friends and had been since childhood. I could tell the night we hung out that they had a brother-sister type of relationship.
But she wasn’t letting me off the hook. “So what was it about?”
I once again wanted to die of embarrassment and felt the heat rush into my face. “It’s about me.”
“You? How is it about you, Phil?”
I blurted out, “Because all our friends think I’m old and boring.” My face was officially purple.
She looked at me, confused. “Old and boring?”
“Yes.”
“Go on.”
I took a deep breath. “The night of your concert—in the car on the way to your penthouse—Claire told me she didn’t peg me as a fan of your music and more of a country or old-school rock fan.”
“What’s the photo about?”
I rolled my eyes to the sky and cringed. I didn’t say anything.
“Phil, what’s it about?”
I wasn’t getting out of this. “We were in Vegas. Ethan and Claire had to come home early. Meg and Laura came to my room, and I was pretty hammered and having a…a private party.”
“With several women?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
She shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal. “Okay, go on.”
So she doesn’t care and isn’t going to judge me?
“Ethan took that picture of me on the jet and sent it to Claire, then she showed it to all our friends, and I haven’t heard the end of it since.”
“So…what about the pink wig? If it isn’t to make fun of me, what is it about?”
My face singed with red heat. “During the conversation, I told Claire and Ethan that you were my favorite singer…” God, this is so embarrassing. She wasn’t interested in me past our one-night stand—she had made that clear—and now I was disclosing all of this.
“And?”
I exhaled again. “And also that, on a scale of one to ten, you’re a twenty. Claire said she didn’t peg me as a pink hair lover, either.”
A tiny smile played on her lips. “Wow, they do think you’re a stick in the mud, don’t they?”
Softly, I started to laugh. Sophie joined in. Not thinking about how she could have found me and didn't, I stepped closer, pushed her blue hair away from her face, and crushed my lips into hers.
Her lips were heaven on earth. Soft. Plump. Juicy.
Over the last few months, I had thought of those lips so many times. As other women kissed me, I had compared them all to her. No one could compete. They were lips meant to be worshipped.
Her phone rang. She ignored it and continued to kiss me, sliding her tongue that tasted like blackberries throughout my mouth. The warm heat of her pussy penetrated through our clothes as she ground her cherry against my cock.
Every inch of her was so delicious.
My phone rang. I sighed, took a step back, and grabbed my phone out of my pocket. It was Ethan. “Hey, Ethan.”
“You with Sophie?”
“Yes.”
“She okay?”
“I think so. Hold on a minute.” I put my hand over the phone. “Ethan wants to know if you’re okay. Are you?”
She nodded. “Tell him I’m good, and I’m sorry I caused a scene. I’ll speak with him and Claire tomorrow.”
I relayed the message to Ethan and hung up.
“I’m sorry I hurt your feelings and ruined your night.”
“My feelings are fine now. Thank you for explaining.”
I nodded.
She raised an eyebrow at me. “And you haven’t ruined my night. The night is young. Didn’t you say you were going to show me where you go to let off steam?”
“Sophie, I shouldn’t have suggested that.”
“Why? I’m not good enough to go to your party?”
“No! That’s not it at all. I just doubt it’s your scene.”
“Yeah, why is that?”
I nervously scanned her eyes. My face got a bit red again. “No one knows where I go, and I don’t want them to.”
“I know how to keep things private.”
“I’m sure you do, but things can get pretty...unorthodox.”
She smiled at me and leaned into my ear. “You do know I’m a rock star, right?”