Chapter One/Prologue:
Disclaimer: Strong sexual content, graphic sex scenes, disturbing content. 18+, please. This novel wonāt be for you if youāre not comfortable with any of the above topics.
2020 All Rights Reserved (you know how it goes) Please donāt attempt to steal any part of my work.
Spotify Playlist:
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4eYVeStCVYcyVOPzezHhLR?si=-5orDu2bSUeziHdpReNW0Q
ā” Dedicated Theme Song: Circles - Post Malone ā”
Prologue:
I lit another cigarette shakily before going back to fumbling with Sawyerās new iPhone 11, opening the sketchy text message that just came through apprehensively. The shower had been going for a hot minute, so I knew it was only a matter of time before she caught me red handed unless I got a move on. I inhaled deeply and immediately regretted my choice as I practically coughed up half a lung.
Fuck, I couldn't make this a habit unless I wanted to throw away all of the progress I've made training out on the water.
SMS: Yeah, I should have a free weekend coming up here soon. Wanna catch a flick while Iām in town? Iāve been dying to see that new action film theyāve been advertising like crazy on TV. Lemme know baby XO.
My mouth went dry as I let out an incredulous snort. Baby!? Who the fuck is this bitch? My eyes scanned upward, where the contactās name presented itself clearly.
Blytheā¤ļø
The water cut off suddenly, and I stole a quick glance over my shoulder before furiously typing out a response. I was so pissed off, but this obviously wasnāt one sided; I needed to tread lightly if I wanted the truth. So, with a light shake of my head I sighed softly and sent the message before I could change my own mind.
SMS: Youāre not the only ābabyā here, and apparently Iām not either. Weāre both adults, I donāt see why we canāt talk without Sawyer around. Namesā Kate, I work at Naples beach. Iām a lifeguard there. Thursday-Monday afternoons. Respond or donāt, but sheāll just lie if you ask what this is about.
āKay bae? Grab me a towel, would ya? My dumb ass forgot to snag one from the dryer on my way in here.ā Sawyerās husky voice shouted from her bathroom and I seethed internally.
Thatās not the ONLY thing your ādumb assā forgot, Soy. Evidently, you forgot who the fuck I was when you started talking to someone else.
āSure, give me a sec.ā I responded numbly, taking one last drag off my cancer stick and ashing it in the little white plastic tray sitting on Sawyerās patio table before heading back inside. Her phone buzzed, and I wasted no time checking the notification. Naturally, my girlfriendās mystery lover responded and if the situation werenāt so epically fucked up, I mightāve burst into disbelieving laughter.
SMS: I fucking knew it; She told me āKateā was her cousin. I didnāt realize she was from some backwards town in Alabama. :/ Iāll show up on Saturday after Iāve had some time to settle in. Sounds like weāve got a ton to talk about....
Youāre telling me.
Deleting the last two texts out of Sawyerās phone, I cursed softly under my breath and winced from the emotional blow Iād been left with. Every single fiber of my being longed to get the hell out of here, but something stopped me. I didnāt know what, but I was going to find out.
One way or another, even if it couldnāt be right now.
********************
Chapter One | A Girl && Her Games:
ā¦ā¦ Sawyer ā¦ā¦
He canāt be fucking serious, can he?
Iād just gotten finished with responding to my assigned asshole clientās demanding email when my more absent than anything else boss, Monty, shot me a message through the chat service my work uses; Stating Mr. ā²lives to waste my time over the course of this last weekā is back on Social Media blasting a shit ton of nonsense about my ālack of consideration for the consumer.ā Attached is a screenshot of this bull, along with a request I couldnāt help but openly scoff at.
Koala Board (Montgomery Reid): Hey Sawyer, could you make an exception for this customer and honor the expired sale price? Heās spamming all of our brand posts without an end in sight. I appreciate it.
Yeah, Iāll bet you really fucking do, kiss ass. Our direct supervisor, Collin Moss, has a bad habit of changing his āvisionā for our team about as often as he changes those ridiculous ties he wears to our damn near hourly Zoom meetings, and this monthās goal is to please any and everyone whoās interested in our organic pet food. Why even have policies if we arenāt following them all of a sudden? Donāt get me wrong, itās no skin off my back if someone pays $10.00 less for a bag of overpriced kibble and bits, but youāre not getting anywhere treating me like trash.
Monty mustāve forgotten how I operate; Iām not like the others on my team...hell, for starters I donāt even need this job. Itās something for me to do when I get bored; Nothing more, nothing less. Four months in, youād think he knew better by now.
With an exaggerated eye roll, I began typing a response. My whole ass desk shook visibly as I slammed my fingertips against the keys. About halfway through, I felt a smirk play against my lips involuntarily. Deleting my original whiny rant, I sent a curt reply instead.
Koala Board (Sawyer Driscoll): Sure thing ;)
Not really, I was done, but Monty was none the wiser...yet.
Turning my attention to the lengthy email correspondence I had going with dick head supreme, I almost choked on my homemade green tea smoothie as I read his most recent message; Sent only seconds after I responded to Monty.
Hello AGAIN,
This is an unacceptable solution. Failure to honor the sale price I found on your website will result in me telling EVERYONE I know not to buy from your company!
The customer service I have received from you is absolutely appalling. Put me through to someone else if you arenāt going to do the RIGHT thing and take care of your customers.
- Jack Beverly
Oh, no worries about me doing the āright thingā, fuck face.
I quickly gulped down the rest of the rather chalky concoction, Iāve really gotta start blending my shakes better, and began humming cheerfully as I started working on the very last email Iād ever send for āTasty Paws Incorporatedā.
Jack,
Itās with great, great pleasure that I inform you youāre STILL not getting the EXPIRED coupon youāve been griping about for way too long. That sale ended two months ago, and was previously active for three.
Itās ten bucks, dude. Are you really THAT broke, or are you just being difficult because you can?
Iād suggest picking up a few pointers on how to treat the people having to deal with your ungrateful attitude a little better; Otherwise you might just get stuck crying about us to your 103 followers on Instagram again. :)
Get bent, - Not Paid Enough To Deal With You
Still humming merrily, I sent another half assed email to Monty and Collin containing my immediate resignation, and promptly signed out of and uninstalled every application I had running. Next up, I powered off my Apple laptop and made a bee line for the restroom. The perks of working from home really werenāt all that bad, and being required to use our own computers meant I didnāt have to do any unnecessary driving to drop company owned equipment off.
What a shame; I was really starting to get the hang of things too. Oh well, sorry not sorry. You win some, you lose some; Lifes one big game, and I'm always down to play.
I reached for my new bottle of Bedhead After-Party and applied a good amount of it into my naturally frosty white blonde hair, toying around with it until I achieved the usual tousled look I rocked on a normal basis. This new taper cut really suited me, but I had to keep it long on top or Iād lose my shit. Bad hair days were a regular occurrence for me in the past, way back when my parents were still alive, and I refused to let anyone go nuts with the mess on my head since. Looking in the mirror always made me grin, being the cocky little shit I am.
They say flaunt what youāve got, and Iāve got it. At 5ā²9, my slim build and solid icy blue eyes have been known to break both women and menās necks, even with the boyish aesthetic I give off. A slit near the end of my left blonde eyebrow and impish ācome hitherā smile brought it all together. For the sake of trendy conversation, my ancestry stems from Lithuania and Ireland.
I looked fuck all like my late aristocratic mother Emilija, and next to nothing in comparison to Christopherāthe wealthy stock broker who made the mistake of knocking my mom up almost twenty eight years ago, as if either of them had any business being parents to begin with. They werenāt terrible, but they werenāt what Iād exactly call great either...or suitable, or even halfway decent.
Like I always say, good thing they stopped at one kid.
Mommy and daddy dearest traveled constantly, and left me to my own devices throughout most of the school year growing up; Throwing money in my face to keep me and the degenerate company I kept occupied. Birthdays and holidays were this huge deal, because thatās when they tried their hand at pretending like I was the center of their universe; Or even just a small part of it.
On the eve of my twenty first birthday, Iād gotten the news of their plane crash from a distant uncle on my dadās side whom Iāve never met. There werenāt any survivors. Of course, they were on their way home from a London getaway so they could put on their best ā²We give a ratās ass about our daughterā² act just in time for the event.
Only, they never made it.
I shouldāve cried, I mean they were my parents, but I opted to get drunk by myself in the posh loft I was living in at the time and sulked instead. The thoughtful surprise party my close friend since Junior year in high school, Erin Triem, threw for me that night completely went to waste because I couldnāt bring myself to show up for it.
Itās one of the only regrets I have, but she doesnāt know it and never will. As far as the world is concerned, I say what I mean and do what I want. To hell with any and everyone else.
If I were the type to have a best friend, Erin would be mine for sure, but Iām not. Getting too close to anyone is something I just canāt do, because everyone takes off eventually; Or straight up dies on me. Not just my parents, literally everyone. A couple EX girlfriends with shitty intentions, backstabbing cocksuckers who only gave me the time of day for a little cash, you name itāIāve seen it.
Trust nobody, ever. It doesnāt end well.
I learned that lesson young and I was glad for it. Iām my own best friend at the end of the day, and that was just fine by me. Admittingly, Iām sure Iād be a bit broken up if something happened between Erin and I, but Iād get through itājust like I have with everything else thatās hit me upside the head or tripped me while running in life.
I donāt need a God damn soul; Just me, myself, and the three million dollars I still had left from Emilija and Christopherās will stashed away in my bank account. Itās the least they couldāve done in the grand scheme of things, after all...I am who I am because of them.
Unsurprisingly, my iPhone XS Max started blowing up from where it was still laying face down on my desk, but I paid it no mind as I finished grooming for a much needed day at the beach. How else was I going to spend this gorgeous sunny Thursday afternoon? Not stuck on the phone listening to my former supervisor lecture me about abruptly quitting, thatās what! I really needed a tan like nobodyās business, and was dead set on getting one.
Ten minutes later, whoever was trying to reach me eventually gave up, but it didnāt make a difference in my eyes either way; Itās not like I was in a hurry to check my plethora of notifications anyhow. Iād already gotten into the half full bottle of Titoās tequila chilling in the freezer, and was in the process of downing my third shot when a series of knocks at the door made me glance toward my living room apathetically. I already knew who it was, because itās always the same person who knocks the same way every time she comes over.
āSāopen!ā
āYo Sauce, you off work yet? Iāve had one hell of a day and Iām ready to kick it or something. You down?ā Erin was rambling a mile a minute as she slipped inside carrying a large sunflower printed beach bag, shouting for me by my affectionate nickname. Her waist length midnight black hair was piled high in a cute top bun, with a few stray strands near the ears brushing against her tanned, bare shoulders. Scantily dressed as usual, I wasnāt surprised to see the tiny white bikini top barely covering Erinās perky breasts that she picked out at the mall a few weeks ago. A flimsy black lace wrap hugged her thick, full hips like a glove.
Leggy, sultry and sweetāthe perfect girl for anybody but me; Itās not that I didnāt find her attractive, Iāve got eyes. I just refused to fuck over what we had going as buddies. Besides, I usually wound up being her wing woman when we went out, and knew all the nitty gritty details of her sex life like the back of my hand.
I wasnāt complaining; Iām always up for some prime entertainment.
My longtime friendās smoldering golden brown eyes flashed knowingly as they fell on the plain, miniature drinking vessel I had positioned against my lips.
That girl probably got me more so than anyone else. She has a real good tongue on her too, sharp enough to keep me and my bullshit in check. Keeping up with all the insanity that is my life is an accomplishment all on itās own, and I gave her mad props for doing so.
Fourth shot down, I slammed the little glass on my space grey marble countertop and grinned widely at Erin. āWhat job?ā
Mouth agape, she hurried over to where I started cutting up a whole lime with one of her infamous ānot this againā expressions. ā...Oh God. What did you do now, Sawyer?ā
My head was swimming, but I couldnāt give two shits long enough to care; I wanted to get fucked up and fast. Grabbing my salt shaker and a lime wedge, I squeezed the citrus fruit along my forearm and sprinkled a line of tiny white pebbles along the damp skin. I smirked at Erin mischievously before lazily dragging my tongue against the salty mixture and taking a hearty swig from my cold Titoās bottle gleefully. After I came up for air, I wiped my upper lip and shrugged nonchalantly
āYou know my motto; Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Monty shouldāve known better than to ask me to go out of my way for some pompous prick who couldnāt keep his mouth shut. I donāt need that riffraff.ā
āRiffraff!? Youāre something else for real, girl.ā Erin scoffed playfully, dancing into the kitchen so she could yank the tequila out of my right hand firmly. Being only two inches shorter than me, it was difficult to avoid her teasing sneer. āHey...slow your roll, Iām not carrying your tipsy ass to my car so you better get it together fast. Besides, the pier is lined with places to grab a good drink; Why get wasted now? Leggo.ā
She had a point. Good oleā trusty Erin; Remembering all the important details. I chose not to fight her and began padding toward my bedroom to change into appropriate attire for lounging around Naples beach.
What a time to be alive in glorious Florida, USA; I donāt know why I didnāt quit that crappy job sooner, my ass belonged on the beach soaking up rays and checking out some tail.
āGive me five minutes my dude and weāll get going.ā
Her low groan made me snicker under my breath; Erin knew the drill by now. With all the swim wear I owned, itād be more like twenty before I was good and ready.
...But whoās counting?