Blaze (Big D Escort Service Book 2) Read online

  Janie leaned forward and held out a single finger. “One person can help you.” She pointed that finger at Betty. “You. You are the only person who can help you, Betty. Not Dave, not this place, not even God. If you don’t make the decision that you want to get better, then you’ll never get out of this rut. It’s that simple. You are the one who has to be willing to accept help and learn from it. You are the one who has to open up to the higher power, whatever that power is. Without believing you can get better, you certainly won’t.”

  “But I can’t. I’ve tried.”

  So much for the nice pep talk. It was time for the hammer.

  “You’ve tried, my ass.” Janie leaned back, letting anger infuse her. “You can, and you freaking better. Because we both know Dave will not leave you be. Losing you is not the best thing for him—it’s just the easiest thing for you. No, the best thing for him would be if you got better. The best thing for him would be if he didn’t have to spend his life on suicide watch, terrified he’ll have to clean his mother’s brains off the wall. For him to keep the hard-earned money he’s killed himself to make instead of throwing it away on medical bills and fruitless trips to rehab. To have a loving mother who knows his friends, and who sees him at Thanksgiving. The best thing for your son is for you to try to be even somewhat independent.”

  Anger flashed in Betty’s eyes. “Who do you think you are, coming in here, trying to tell me how to live my life? Telling me what’s best for my boy?”

  “Someone who clearly loves your son much more than you do. I’d do anything for him. I would go to the ends of the earth to make sure he gets a happily ever after, and do you know who is preventing him from doing that?”

  Her face hardened.

  “That’s right. Ms. Betty Miller.” Janie waited for the anger to come back. The lady had a stubborn streak. “It’s not you versus Dave anymore. It’s you versus me. I’m not going to tell him I’ve been here. I’ll never mention a word about it. But know this. If you don’t agree to whatever he asks you to do, I will haunt the shit out of you, do I make myself clear? I will come to this rehab center every night. I got in tonight, so you know the threat is legit. When you get out, I’ll haunt your trailer. All the people who think they’re your friends? They’ll turn on you. I’ll make sure of it. I mean, they already have, but you probably don’t want to see it. Their willingness to sell you pills and give you guns clearly wasn’t a big enough hint. Dave won’t need a suicide watch, because I’ll call the cops on your ass if you so much as think about doing something illegal.”

  “So much for healing starting with me,” Betty said in a sullen tone.

  “It does start with you. It starts and ends with you. He wants what’s best for you. If you get better, you get to lead a happy, fulfilled life. You don’t have to deal with me. Doesn’t that sound nice? As an added bonus, I will personally whisper in his ear that you don’t like all the extravagance he tries to shower you with. It can be embarrassing, I know. I’ll make sure he stops at comfortable, instead of blasting off to ridiculous.”

  Betty’s eyes widened at that.

  Janie stood, ready to go. She’d said her piece.

  “What’s in it for you?” Betty asked, her hands tucked into her lap.

  “I told you. His happiness is what I want. I don’t want to see his heart break like it did the other day. I can’t bear to see him like that.”

  “You’re his girlfriend? One he didn’t bring around to his own mother…”

  “Now you’re just being an ass. When was the last time you were that boy’s mother?” Janie stared her down. The words were harsh, but Betty needed harsh. “And no, I’m not. I love him, not the other way around. He’s assured me that we can’t have a future, and I’m okay with that. If that’s what he needs, then that’s what he’ll get. Just like he’s going to get a normal mother who loves him and tells him so, even if I have to stalk you through hell and back to get you to see sense. And maybe that normal mother pats him on the cheek. You seem like you could sell that. Whatever. That’s for you to decide. All I’m saying is: get your shit together, or you’ll have a bad case of the crazies following you around.”

  Janie turned and headed for the door. Before she walked out, leaving silence in her wake, she paused. “I hope not to see you Monday night, Betty…”

  Twenty-Five

  At three o’clock on Sunday afternoon, Dave let himself into Colton’s house with butterflies in his stomach. Janie hadn’t come home again last night. He’d stopped by Colton’s earlier that evening, and she hadn’t been there, either. No one had seen her. Noah hadn’t been around either, but he’d said he was on a BD gig and couldn’t talk.

  It wasn’t until about ten o’clock, after Dave had returned to the apartment, that the all-clear had sounded. Apparently she’d picked up some art supplies and then stopped for a drink on the way to Colton’s. It was like she’d taken up residence at his buddy’s place. He was starting to wonder if it was the art, or him, that was keeping her away.

  He eyed the paintings in the front living room, having set them out how he thought they should be displayed. Ethan had argued with him about one or two, but they’d decided to see what Janie had to say.

  Assuming they could sell her on the idea.

  The rattle of ice cubes in the shaker made him smile. She was in the house. They rarely had mixed drinks without her.

  When he turned the corner into the kitchen, he lost his breath. There she stood at the kitchen island, the others gathered around her. They were laughing, clearly at a joke she’d just told. She was absolutely gorgeous—her hair up in a messy ponytail, her tank top splattered with paint, and an easy smile on her face. She noticed him, stopped in the entryway to the kitchen, and that smile burned even brighter and her eyes sparkled.

  “Hey,” he said, making a beeline for her. He’d missed seeing her face. Feeling her presence in the next room. Hearing her jokes and laughter. It had only been a couple days, but it felt like a lifetime. “How is everything?”

  “Good. I’m done.” She exhaled dramatically. “The journey is complete.” She laughed, and her focus dipped to the drinks she was about to pour.

  He knew she meant the journey of love. They weren’t together, which meant she’d reached the end of her desire for them to be. “Oh yeah?” He tried to smile, but it just wouldn’t come.

  “Yeah. So now I need to look over everything, touch up a few, burn a couple, and maybe do a few completely over.”

  “Hello, Dave. So nice to see you again.” Ethan leaned back and draped his arm across the edge of the island in a way that couldn’t possibly be comfortable. Yet he looked utterly relaxed doing it.

  “Have things on your mind, Dave?” Madison narrowed her eyes at him. She had been doing that a lot lately.

  He ignored them. “You aren’t going to burn a few. Listen, Ethan and I were talking…”

  “Whoa, whoa.” Ethan held up both hands and dropped his head. “Start from the beginning. You can’t jump into the middle of the pool. You have to swim your way out there.”

  “Unless you have a diving board.” Dave shook his head at Ethan. “Anyway, okay. So—”

  Janie turned to him, showering him with attention. He lost track of what he was saying, his focus dipping down to those plump lips. “Do you want a drink?” she asked.

  “Yes, please.”

  “What kind?”

  “Whatever.”

  She turned away, and he barely stopped himself from draping an arm around her.

  “You were talking,” Ethan prodded.

  “Right.” Dave ran his fingers through his hair. “So we visited a few galleries in the nicer areas. Neither of us liked what we saw. I mean, we’re sure we can get a couple things in there. We presented Janie in a way that got their curiosity going.”

  “We wouldn’t tell anyone who she was. Dave made up some story about rich clients flying her to exotic locations to paint for them.” Ethan grinned, not noticing Janie’s look of deat
h. Dave had forgotten to tell Ethan not to bring that tidbit up. “My man is bright. Threw a five-figure price tag on it. They bought it hook, line, and sinker.”

  “Arizona is not that exotic,” she muttered.

  “We didn’t mention the locations.” Ethan laughed. “We kept it mysterious.”

  “It wasn’t a story. It’s true. And now we know Dave’s alleged awards for keeping secrets can’t possibly be legit, because he is a blabbermouth. There. Happy? Now we all know each other’s lives.”

  “Janie, I needed the ammo. Please don’t hire a committee to renege those awards. I’m proud of them,” Dave pleaded, barely repressing his smile.

  “No.” She pointed a finger at his face. “Don’t try to be charming. You’re in a shitstorm, mister.”

  “Wait.” Madison, sitting on the stool next to Ethan, leaned over the island. “Those times you disappeared out of town, it was to get paid for painting?”

  “Yup. Nude.”

  Everyone’s eyes widened.

  “Just painting?” Noah asked.

  “Yup. While nude.”

  “That’s hot. Did you splatter yourself with paint?” Ethan asked.

  Colton didn’t wait for Janie to answer that question. “Was it a guy?”

  “Paint splatter, yes. It’s a bitch to scrub off. And yes, a guy. A creepy one. He flies me out in his private jet, sets me up for a week, pays for everything, and watches me paint in the buff. At the end of the week, I paint a nude portrait of a guy, and he keeps that one.”

  “Is he gay?” Colton reached for the drink Janie had just finished shaking, standing away from everyone a little. He was probably getting ready to make some food.

  “That’s my guess, but I’ve never asked. Or cared, really. His creepiness is not sexually related.”

  “But why do you have to be naked, then?” Madison asked. “If he’s probably gay, I mean?”

  “Because she’s sensual,” Dave blurted out. Janie’s face turned red. He shrugged. He might as well admit that he’d taken notice of her. It was only fair. Everyone know about those paintings. “She has an effortless grace to her movements. When she lets go, even if not fully—” She bent her face downward, bashful. They both knew he was talking about lovemaking. “—there’s a raw beauty to her that is spellbinding. I can see a lover of art wanting to study her as much as he’d study one of her paintings. And that’s the thing. Right there. That is what we need to sell. The feeling. The expression. We don’t want to sell a painting, like everyone else is—we need to sell the whole package. An experience.”

  “We have to keep up with the mystery, though.” Ethan raised his finger. “No one will get to meet her, or even see her face, unless it is a huge-dollar buy. Like Mr. Rich Guy in the desert. Wait. Can we get him to come to a show?”

  “No,” Janie said.

  “Yes!” Madison leaned forward with an outstretched finger aimed at Janie’s face. Janie slapped it away. “Yes. That’s happening. He can help. You’re asking him, bitch. You made me go out with a hooker once. So I’m making you do this. After all the butt waving you did for this guy—”

  “Swaying hips more than butt waving,” Dave interjected.

  “—he needs to show up for you. Oh! I know. Send him a picture of Dave. The hard cock portrait. I bet he’ll snatch that up.”

  “Sweetie, you moved in with that hooker,” Janie said. “Does that really count? Clearly I am psychic.”

  Ethan made a come hither gesture. “Give me the name, and I’ll take care of it. I’ll swing my dick around for him, whatever. I’m not proud. He likes nude guys, I’ll show him a nude guy he’ll never forget.”

  “I’d do it, too.” Everyone turned toward Noah, Mr. Strait-laced, in stunned silence. He shrugged. “I do a lot of annoying shit for money. I show my dick to girls I’d never look at twice if they weren’t paying me. What’s the difference between doing that and standing around like a goober for some loony tune? It’s just nudity.”

  “Right. Exactly.” Janie nodded. “That’s what I think.”

  “Well, fuck it. I guess I have to agree to stand around naked, too.” Dave put his hands on his hips, thinking. He grinned and shook his head. “It would be a real Big Dick show. Janie puts up erotic paintings, and we walk around with our dicks out.”

  Colton shook his head and wandered away.

  “Yes, you too.” Madison laughed and pointed at him. “You too, Colton. You were a big dick once.”

  “Before she castrated you?” Noah laughed and pushed tequila at Janie. “Do you know how to make a margarita?”

  “Where is the challenge in that?” Janie rolled her eyes.

  “Anyway, back on track.” Dave made a circle in the air with his finger before dropping it back to Janie. He didn’t care if anyone noticed. He wanted to touch her. To be close to her. “So while we could get some of your work into a few of the galleries, it won’t fit. Ethan has coined your work edgy chic. The places we saw were all too dull. Mundane.”

  “I can paint something to suit mundane,” Janie said, leaning onto her elbow. Her butt popped out, rubbing against the side of Dave’s leg. Tingles raced up from point of contact and settled in his balls.

  “No.” Ethan shook his head. “That’s a waste, and it doesn’t pay. If we are selling an experience, we’re going to do it for high dollars. Dave and I passed this abandoned warehouse that we think would be perfect for a show.”

  “Abandoned warehouse?” A crease formed in Madison’s brow.

  “It was a normal warehouse,” Dave corrected.

  Ethan framed an imaginary picture. “It was rough and decrepit, but there was a cool quality to it. I think it could work perfectly. We’d have to spruce it up, and work out some partition walls or something for the inside, but I think it could really capture the essence of her work.”

  “We can fill that place.” Noah stepped closer to the island. “All of us have huge social media presences. We could have people lining up.”

  “Especially if you use that portrait of Dave as a carrot.” Madison’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “Do it up in Photoshop, censor the dick bit, and tell them they can see the full monty if they go to the show. That’ll get people there.”

  “We cannot sell that portrait. It’ll probably be banned.” Janie covered her face. “I hate all of this, and while I love all of you for helping, I secretly want to kill you all.”

  “Not so secret when you call it out.” Noah drummed on the island with an easy, friendly smile. He and Janie seemed closer than they had just a couple of days ago.

  Fear rolled through Dave’s middle. He put his hand on the side of her butt without thinking. “We’re selling that painting. I look awesome.”

  “Except for the portion issues…” Noah said.

  “Jealous.” Dave laughed.

  “I hate to burst all your collective bubbles, but I don’t have enough money to rent an entire warehouse for a month or whatever.” Janie straightened up, but she leaned against him a little, pressing her side to his. He wanted to turn her to him and kiss her. Trail kisses down her neck.

  “A month is way too long. A week?” Ethan looked around.

  “A weekend.” Colton, who’d been moving around the kitchen while they spoke, delivered a cheese and meat plate. “Don’t give people time to make excuses during the week, when life is busy. We advertise it on social media for a month, maybe, but we hit it in a weekend. We don’t disclose the location until the day of—it’ll help build suspense. And the people who come will see an old, busted-up warehouse transformed to a happening new…situation. Show? We shouldn’t call it an art show. Not for the crowd we can gather.”

  “A weekend.” Ethan grabbed a piece of cheese and popped it in his mouth. That didn’t stop him from talking. “I like that.”

  “Okay, but you guys are talking about a huge expense. I’ll have to rent the place for a while before and after. I could probably get the money by being a hooker, but really, who has the time?”

&n
bsp; “We can figure out money,” Ethan said, waving Janie’s concern away. “I’d be willing to make an investment.”

  “I got the bill. I want to make this work, and I don’t want to do it with a bunch of hands in the pot.” Dave looked into Janie’s eyes. “You finished step one. Now I’ll handle step two. After that, we’ll figure out what step three is.”

  “Step three is another pop-up art show. I guarantee it.” Ethan clapped. “What fun. I wish my mom were alive. She’d give us terrible ideas, but she’d have fun doing it.”

  Twenty-Six

  The crew moved out of the kitchen, headed toward the display of Janie’s art. Ethan wanted her feedback on their setup, but she found herself trailing behind. She had the distinct feeling it wouldn’t matter what she said. The guys had a vision, and they would see it realized or go broke trying.

  Dave hung back, too. He turned so his backside was leaning against the island. “How are you doing with all this?”

  She sipped her drink before setting it down and moving closer to him. With his body this open to her, she couldn’t resist leaning against his hard chest. His arms came around her immediately, holding her close.

  She really, really didn’t want to say goodbye to this part of their friendship. To the overwhelming feelings that had budded within her, and now spread throughout her body. The warmth that felt so right as he firmly rubbed her back.

  Fate really was a bitch.

  “I hate it.” She rested her chin on his chest and looked up at him. “But I appreciate all the help you guys are giving me. It’s way above and beyond. I’d make you stop if you ever listened to me.”

  “We don’t, so that won’t happen.” His hands moved to her upper back, and he leaned down, his body bowing.

  Without hesitation, she met him halfway, up on her tiptoes to touch her lips to his. He nibbled her bottom lip, spreading fire over her skin. She looped her arms around his neck, pulling him tighter. Opening her mouth to him and moaning when he filled it in a rush.