Valentine (A Standalone Novel) (Bad Boy Romance Book) (2 page)

"The party starts at eight. Just grab
your friends and come out," Paul was whispering to someone, or trying to.

"Come get us." Carolyn Jacobs.

I stood as anger burned through my veins.
Carolyn was the current president of the Gammas and had been after my boyfriend
since the day we started dating. Funny enough, she wasn't interested in him
until he decided he was interested in me.

"Yeah. Come get us." I moved up
to stand beside them, working hard to keep my expression calm and unemotional.
The turmoil dancing inside my chest would never be seen by either of them. I
was a master at the art of calm facades.

"Val. There you are." Paul's
lips lifted in a warm smile as he turned to pull me into a tight hug. "You
didn't answer my texts."

"You didn't text." I winked at
him and pulled back a little to look over at Carolyn. Her tight shirt and short
skirt left her looking like a hooker. "It's freezing outside. You're going
to catch your death wearing that."

She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers
through her long blonde hair. "Jealousy isn't becoming, Valentine."
She spat my name before turning her attention back to Paul. "Come pick all
of us up. We'll even let your charity-case girlfriend come."

"Carolyn." Paul gave her a
warning look and turned back to me. "You want to come to the party
tonight? I'll pick you up and bring you back home."

"I'm going, but I'm riding with
Amy." I gave Carolyn a side glance before shoeing her off. "Go away
and make someone else miserable. Your job is done here."

She rolled her eyes and turned.
"You're dating the wrong girl, Paul, and you know it. I hear she doesn't even
put out."

I ignored her and pulled from Paul's hold.
Why everyone reminded me of my mother all of a sudden was beyond me. I needed a
new focus – or better yet, a new life.

"Hey. You know she's just jealous of
you." He followed me back to the table where my stuff sat strewn
everywhere.

"And why is that?" I sat down
and pulled my business law book toward me. "She has everything I have and
then some."

"She's jealous of me." He let
out a curt laugh and touched the back of my hair. "Hey. Look at me. Don't
let her upset you. I'm good with us sleeping together just every once in a
while. I know sex isn't important to you."

Ice water ran through my veins.

"What?" I turned and looked up
at him. He was everyone's wet dream, except mine. His lack of humility and
borderline obsession with popularity left me having to force myself to do
anything beyond a quick, friendly kiss.

If
this is love or lust, I don't want it. Fuck it.

"It's okay. Really." He smiled
and touched the side of my face. "Besides, it's been a few weeks. I'm
figuring if you'll let me take you to the party tonight, then we can go back to
my place afterward. Spend some time together and snuggle up for a good night of
sleep?"

Spending time together usually included me
sucking him off, fucking for five minutes, and listening to him snore the rest
of the night.
Count me out.

I swatted his hand away, suddenly not
feeling so friendly anymore. "I'm good. Go pick up Carolyn. I'm riding
with my friends, and what happens after that is anybody's guess."

"Val, come on." He touched my
shoulder, but I jerked away, hating how immature I felt, but not able to drag
myself from the black hole I was teetering over.

There were many more parts of my life that
I hated than those that I loved. Or liked.

"I have to work on this paper. I'll
see you tonight. Okay?" I glanced up at him, pleading with my expression
for him to leave me be. I didn't need any more pressure in my life, and if
things kept going the way they were, he wouldn't have to worry about me too
much longer, anyways.

Carolyn wasn't one to give up on anything
she wanted, and after grabbing up the leadership role in Gamma our sophomore
year, she was only hungry for something else that was mine. Paul would be next,
and I honestly didn't care. As long as she kept her damn hands off of my
friends, I would survive.

If she didn't, then game on.

Chapter 2

Tate

"Mom?" I called out as I opened
the dilapidated front door to the small, one-bedroom house my mother and I
shared. She was overly precautious about someone breaking into the house, so to
save myself from having her shotgun in my face, I started making sure to let
her know I was home. It was just far safer than the alternative. My lips lifted
in a smile at the thought.

"In here, baby." She poked her
head out from the kitchen and lifted her eyebrow at me. "Why are you late?
You're usually done with dinner and sitting at this old kitchen table studying
by now."

"Long day at the shop. We had more
cars than hands to fix them." I let my backpack drop from my shoulders
onto the couch before tugging my jacket off. "I'm going to go with Sam to
a party later tonight, but I'll be back home for sure."

She moved back into the kitchen and had
her back to me when I walked in. "Fine, but please be careful. I'd rather
you take my jeep than drive that bike late at night. It's freezing out there
and you know that in next few days, it's only going to get worse."

"I'll be fine, Mom. I'm not taking
your jeep. My bike's sturdy and has the right tires to deal with anything that
your jeep could deal with. Shit, it's probably more prepared." I sat down
at the table as she gave me a look over her shoulder.

"Watch your mouth. There are a
million more words you could choose. I don't need to hear you cursing."
She dished me up a bowl of something and moved to sit down in front of me.

"Sorry, Mom." I pulled the stew
toward me and breathed in deeply, loving the smell of it as it penetrated my
lungs.

I'd been raised by the kind woman across
from me, and she was all I knew, but she wasn't my mother. I didn't know my
parents, nor did I want to. Sarah was all I needed. We'd spoken about my
adoption once when I was twelve and never again. She was all the mother I could
hope for, and I tried hard to live up to being the son she deserved.

"Where is this party, anyway? Are you
taking that sleazy blonde girl you were seeing from school?" Her nose
turned up as she pushed a pan of cornbread toward me. "You want
butter?"

I got up and laughed. "I'll get it
myself, and no, I'm not seeing Andrea anymore. I'm not sure why you didn't like
her. She was so...loving."

The snort from my mother caused me to
laugh. Andrea was by far one of the sluttiest girls I'd brought home, but
something about her left me wanting to save her. I was most likely the one that
needed saving from my grandeur hope for a better future and a love story to
tell my grandkids, but nevertheless, I looked for broken souls. It somehow made
me feel better. Wanted. Needed.

"Yeah, loving and extremely touchy-feely.
The girl groped you three times the last time you guys were here." She
followed me with a stern look on her face as I laughed again.

"Mom. That's the new way to hug
nowadays. You should get out more."

"Hug? By cupping someone’s crotch?
No, sir." She shook her head. "I'd whoop someone's ass if they tried
to
hug
me."

I'd just lifted a spoonful of soup to my
mouth and laughed so hard it sprayed it across the table.

She turned and started to clean it up as
her lips lifted in a smile. "I love you. You're a great kid. Did you know
that?"

"I'm a man, Mom." I smirked and
sat back in my chair. "Now, if you could butter and honey up my cornbread,
please. You do it better than I do."

"
Brother
."
She grabbed the plate and started to fix my bread like she always had. A cough
left her as she turned and lifted her hands to her face.

"That doesn't sound good."
Concern ran through me, and I watched her closely for signs of anything other
than the nasty cough as she walked to the sink and washed her hands.

"It's okay. Just a cold. You know I
don't do so well during the winter months. It just gets so cold here." She
turned to look at me as she dried her hands. "When does school start back
up?"

"Tomorrow." I shook my head and
worked on the stew in my bowl. "I'm actually looking forward to it,
though. I think having to work so damn hard to pay for it makes me honestly
respect the fact that I need to do well."

Her expression saddened. "I wish I
could help. There is a possibility for me to pick up more shifts at the
hospital."

"No." I gave her a silly expression.
"I'm good. The shop is bringing in enough to help pay for my books and
keep me and you fed. You just worry about the mortgage and the lights. One day,
I'll be able to take care of all of it for us."

"One day, you'll be married with a
family of your own, Tate." She moved around the table and gripped my
shoulders softly before leaning over and pressing a kiss to the top of my head.
"You need to focus on you and not me."

"Right. Try again." I stifled
the need to make a million more promises I wasn't sure I could come through on.
I wanted to give her the world, and not just because she'd opened her home and
her heart to me, but because she was a good woman and deserved it. Her last
boyfriend had been an asshole and a half, and the day I got to kick him out was
one of the best days of my life.

She had no clue what respect looked like
between a man and a woman, and I was struggling to find the boundary lines
myself. I couldn't remember her ever being in a healthy relationship.

My best friend Sam's parents were in a
good, solid relationship. I'd learned most of what I needed to know about being
a good man from Sam's dad. Sam and I had been inseparable since grade school,
and it had been him who forced me to look into scholarships and grants to
attend University of Minnesota. It was a great school and I loved the idea of
growing smarter and furthering myself, but it was certainly taking a toll on my
income.

Funny enough, Sam was also the one that
regretted getting me started in college. My ability to diagnose and fix cars
was almost uncanny, and the guys at the shop were giving me hell for passing up
Jerry's opportunity to have more hours at the shop. Sam was on my ass to
rethink everything, too, but I was eighteen months away from graduating. There
was no way I was throwing in the towel. I'd invested far too much. I could keep
pushing forward for another year and a half, then I would find a way to cut
back and re-balance everything.

Weariness rolled over me as I thought
through all that I had coming up the next week with classes starting back up.
Jerry needed me at the shop six days a week for the next few months. The winter
season was always the busiest for us, and I was loyal to a fault, if nothing
else.

A knock pulled me from my thoughts. My
mother was already headed toward the door by the time I stood up.

"Mom, let me-"

She opened the door, and Sam walked in,
giving her a big hug.

My stomach was tied in knots as I let out
a long sigh and dropped back down into my chair. I was scared as hell that we
hadn't seen the last of Daniel, my mom's ex with a temper that would scare
Lucifer himself.

"It smells like your famous beef stew
in here, Ms. Phillips. You saved me some, right?" He walked in and patted
my back. "Hey, buddy."

"Hey. There's still some in that pot
on the stove. Get you a bowl and join me." I took another big bite and
tried to calm myself. Daniel was in jail the last time I checked and everything
was fine. It had to be. I couldn't handle another uproar where my mother's life
was put in danger. We would need to move, regardless of funding or opportunity.
She meant too much to me to let anything happen to her.

"There's plenty. You boys eat it
until it's all gone. You know I hate leftovers. It means the meal wasn't nearly
as good as it should have been." She stopped by the door to the kitchen
and coughed again. "I'm going to turn in early and try to knock this cold
out before it knocks me off my feet."

"Alright." I got up and gave her
a hug. "No opening the door tonight. I'm serious."

"Tate. It's fine. Daniel is in jail,
and I got my shotgun by the front door. No one's going to hurt me. I
promise." She touched my face and moved around me to focus on Sam.
"Don't let him bring home another slut puppy. Alright, Sammy?"

"Yes, ma'am." He glanced over
his shoulder to give her a serious look and curt nod. "Only church girls
that sing in the choir for Tate, Ms. Phillips."

"There we go. That's why you're his
your best friend." She laughed and turned to give me another hard stare.
"Be careful on the bike. I'm serious."

"Alright, Mom. I'll be home late
tonight. Get some rest." I moved to sit back down at the table and dove
back into my dinner, loving how well my mother could cook. That had to be one
of the two things I wanted out of a wife. Someone that could cook and a woman
that would love me past my poverty and faults. I wasn't highly likely to get
either, much less both, but I could dream.

"Dude, that cough doesn't sound good.
Has she had that checked out?" Sam sat down across from me and gave me a
hard stare. "I'm pretty sure that's bronchitis."

Sam was in his final year of pre-med and
would be on to medical school in Boston in a year or so. I was going to miss
him like hell, but the world needed more doctors like him. He was kind and
caring, giving and incredibly patient.

"I doubt it. She works at the
hospital, and you know she still won't tell anyone that she's not feeling
good." I let out a sigh and worked to get another piece of cornbread from
the pan. "Don't eat this. It tastes like shit."

"Liar. Give me that." He pulled
the pan toward him and smirked at me. "This party tonight is going to be
off the chain. I heard Darrin say that they invited the girls from the prep
school the next county over to join us."

"Prep school? That's high school,
Sam." I shook my head at him. "Those girls aren't legal, and I'm not
touching any of them."

"Most of them are seniors, Tate.
Eighteen, dude." Sam rolled his eyes. "Whatever. You need to get laid,
like, yesterday. You're moody and have dark circles under your eyes."

"My balls are too full? Is that what
you're telling me?" I took another bite of my stew before realizing that
it was too cold to enjoy. I got up and popped it into the microwave as we
continued our recurring conversation about my sex life.

"Something like that." He turned
and looked over his shoulder. "Have you slept with anyone since Andrea and
you split up last week?"

"Nope, but I'm going to tonight. It's
just not going to some virgin high school chick. That's gross." I pulled
the bowl from the microwave and walked over to take my seat again. "I want
a woman that knows what she's doing and isn't afraid to explore her pleasure
with me."

"Explore her pleasure." Sam
tapped his spoon against his mouth as he got a faraway look. "I like that.
Does that pick up line work? You're the one that gets the girls all the
time."

"Shut up." I shook my head and
rolled my eyes at him.

"No, I'm serious. Like I'm going to
try that shit tonight. I'll just walk up to a fine girl and say, 'Hi, I'm Sam.
You wanna maybe go explore your pleasure with me?'"

"Yes. Please do that. Make sure I'm
right beside you with a hand towel to help clean you up when you get a drink in
your face." I laughed. "It's cold outside, too, so it's likely to
scald your girly face, seeing that it'll be hot chocolate."

"Or cider. Could be apple
cider." He stirred his soup and let out a grunt. "You remember that
party we went to at the beginning of December? Amber May's party? She had
cider."

"It wasn't the cider you were
interested in." I tried not to think about that night. It hadn't been my
finest moment. Where I wanted to be the type of guy who respected women, when
it came to a horny girl and a few too many beers, I was nothing less than
carnal.

"This is true, but the tits on that
pretty Asian girl were incredible. You have to admit, she was sexy." He
took a big bite of his stew and yelled, spitting it back out. "
Fuck, that
was hot."

"You deserved that. She's someone's
daughter." I laughed at his scathing look.

"You had her give you head later that
night. Don't talk to me about being a good guy." He got up and poured himself
a glass of tea from the fridge.

"I didn't ask her to do that. She
just kept talking about how hungry she was all damn night. I got sick of
hearing it." I shrugged. "She was quick to act when I offered her
something to chew on."

"Brother. You have to tell me how you
fucking do it. You get laid more than any guy I know." Sam dropped an ice
cube into his bowl and started to stir it around like he'd been doing since we
were kids.

"You just said that I wasn't getting
laid that often, and now I'm a regular slut?" I lifted my bowl to my lips
and drank the rest of the liquid in it. Warmth filled me, and I couldn't help
but let out a groan. "God, I love this stew."

"Yes, you're a slut, but you knew
that. Have your mother get that cough checked out. Seriously." His brow
pulled tight, and I nodded in agreement before starting toward the stove.