Pinned Up (Pinned Up Trilogy) (21 page)

Within moments, my cellphone goes off continuously, missed calls and text messages all from him. I pull over and disregard his messages. Instead, I send him one of my own demanding that he doesn’t bother me again since he has hurt me deeply enough.

I head home and drown myself in sorrow and regret, the song, “Rehab” from Rihanna comes to mind. I’m hurt by him and disappointed in myself. I’m not sure which feeling bothers me most. I trusted him and believed his words when he stated he would never hurt me. I knew better than to open myself to him so easily, yet I did. I recognize I should have kept my guard up and not made myself so vulnerable. Lesson learned.

A few weeks have passed by with no word from Josh. I’ve been in a melancholy state since I saw HIM with HER. I’ve canceled two photo shoots since then. I just haven’t been up to getting dolled up and being under scrutiny for several hours. I usually conduct myself in a professional manner, but lately, my heart just hasn’t been in my work.

It’s the weekend before Christmas, I decide to do some final shopping and stop by my mom’s shop for some baked goods before Kade and I head home. My mom is at the register closing up today’s sales. I see the back of a tall, muscular man in a black baseball hat wearing a grey tank top right behind her working on the trim of the doorway to the kitchen. His broad shoulders and cut up arms are well defined as he works. It takes me a moment to register that this man has a tattoo taking up his right shoulder and backside. It’s not just any tattoo, it’s the back of a tattoo I’ve kissed and caressed with my tongue countless times.

My mom looks up and has a shocked expression on her face. “Nina! Kade! Hey, loves. What brings you by?” She asks with guilt consuming her delicate features.

At the sound of our names, the man working on my mom’s shop turns around and faces me.

Seeing Josh after so many weeks takes me by surprise. First of all, he looks hot as hell. His tank top shows off his muscular upper body. He’s wearing loose fitted Levi jeans, he’s slightly sweaty, and now his stubble is more evident along his jawline. He looks rugged and absolutely sexy. There’s something extremely appealing about a man who’s isn’t afraid to get down and dirty while he’s working. It takes all my willpower not to throw myself on top of him. Then, it hits me. What the fuck is Joshua Ryan doing at my mom’s bakery? I can see that he’s working, but why him? After the shock begins to fade, I direct my scowl at Victoria Moretti. I’m so pissed, I can’t even speak. I walk away and drag Kade with me.

“Wait!” My mom yells.

She chases after us and catches up to me right before I get in my car. “Nina, stop acting like such a child. You need to speak to the poor kid.”

“Why the hell is he working in your bakery, mom?” I’m fuming!

Nervously, she responds, “He comes over all the time. He has a serious sweet tooth. He’s depressed over you, Nina. One day, he suggested that I expand the doorway to the kitchen and make other changes behind the register. He stated that he would do it for free on the weekends as long as I fed him Italian dishes and pastries. How could I pass that up? We’ve had long talks about you and the reason you two are no longer together. You should really talk to him, Nina.”

I’m beyond shocked with her words. “My own mother on the side of the enemy?”

My mom laughs. “Calm down, drama child.” She gets serious. “He’s a good man who has made several mistakes, but has real feelings for you.”

“I don’t wanna hear it, mom. I can’t believe you’re siding with him! Let me know when he’s done with this project and it’s safe for me to get some pastries.” I tell her with annoyance clear in my voice.

Kade intervenes. “Cheesecake, I think you’re being rude. Sorry, Mama V. You know how stubborn your child can be. I would hate to leave all those baked goods to get stale. I wouldn’t mind taking them off your hands.”

“Kade!” I yell and give him a disbelieving look.

“What? I’ve been craving cannoli all day. If you wanna starve, that’s on you.” He says insensitively.

Just then, Josh approaches us. “I can’t believe you’re throwing a tantrum on my account. Grow up. I’m helping your mom. This isn’t about you. If my presence bothers you so much, ignore me.” Josh’s aggravated expression and indifference has me bewildered.
Why the hell is he upset with me?

Josh directs his attention to my mom. “I’ll be back shortly to finish up.” He walks away without giving me a second glance.

“Wait here. I’ll be right back with a box of your favorites.” My mom kisses Kade on the cheek and gives me a stern expression.
Is she serious? Whose team is she on anyway?

She returns with a box of baked goods for the both of us. I’m so pissed; I know those treats won’t make it to the house. I’ll be shoving them down my throat, eating away my feelings. If Kade even thinks about saying one inappropriate comment, I’m punking him for his cannoli.

On the ride back home, he’s quite as he devours his sinful dessert that he allows himself once a week.

Christmas finally arrives. In the morning, Kade, my mom, and I eat our customary holiday breakfast consisting of eggs, waffles, bacon, hash browns, toast, and a fruit salad.
Yum!
We wait for Emme to arrive so that we can open our gifts. She usually celebrates Christmas Eve with her family and opens presents at midnight. On Christmas day, she spends it with us. When she finally arrives, we’re anxious to unveil our gifts. As the years have progressed, we’ve made rules to our gift exchange. We each give five presents to each individual. One present is a nice gift not to exceed fifty dollars, three presents can only cost ten bucks per item, and the final gift has to be sexual in nature with no dollar limit. Seeing my mom open up the sex toys she gets for Christmas always has Emme, Kade, and me dying from laughter. It never fails, it’s the highlight of the year.

After we exchange the typical Christmas gifts perfume, clothes, gift cards, and cool trinkets, it’s finally time to open up the sexy (in Kade’s case…raunchy) goodies. My mom wants to hand out her gifts first. She still feels a bit uncomfortable about purchasing sex toys for her “kids,” so she maintains the sexiness level to a minimum. Emme and I get two pretty satin and lace nighties. Kade gets silk boxers with the initials KD on them. Right away, Kade, Emme, and I start giggling. My mom isn’t aware that Kade’s alter ego (yes, he has one) is KD, which represents “Killer Dick,” not Kade Daly, like my mom meant for it to stand. She’s completely out of the loop. Kade turns to my mom and gives her a big hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Mama V, you will never know how inappropriate the gift you just gave me is.” He says while he’s laughing. “It’s by far, one of my favorite presents ever!”

My mom slaps Kade’s leg. “Ugh! You kids and your perverted inside jokes.” She does her best to contain a smile, but fails. That just makes us laugh harder.

She continues handing us the last of her gifts, edible massage oils. Okay, at least she tried. Emme’s next. She gives my mom her elegantly, decorated present, a three DVD set of variety porn with several hours of fucking.

“Victoria, I don’t really know what you’re into, so I decided to give you a sample of everything.” Emme smiles warmly at my mom as if she just gave her a scarf for Christmas instead of movies with the covers of open vaginas on them.

“That was very sweet of you, Emme. Thank you.” My mom replies. Kade and I can’t help but chuckle. She’s my mom, not only is it slightly awkward, it’s hilarious too.

Emme hands Kade his gift. It’s a spanking paddle with the word “SLUT” cut out of it. Without hesitation, I notice Kade’s expression change.

“Mom, cover your ears!” I order. In the past, she’s asked us to tell her when to wear her “earmuffs,” the last thing she wants to hear is something that will completely traumatize her.

Kade can’t keep his eyes off Emme. “Well, well…I see you’ve been a naughty girl and need to get spanked. You want me to mark that sweet ass of yours, you dirty slut? Tell me and beg for it.” The look he gives Emme is lasciviously sinful.

“You two stop it! I can’t believe you’re thinking about fucking during a family event! Get your heads out of the gutter! Emme, I can’t comprehend why you would set yourself up like that. You know if you two fuck again, he’s going to run his mouth.” I remind her.

“I couldn’t help myself. I’ve been horny lately.” She confesses shyly.

“That’s okay, boo. Daddy will be sure to smack that ass nice and hard the next time I get a chance.” Kade winks at Emme.

“Ewww. Stop that. You two are too much. Behave!” There’s no way I could maintain being serious. “Okay, mom! Earmuffs off.”

“Sorry.” Both Kade and Emme apologize without the slightest bit of regret and with smirks on their faces.

“Oh, forget about it.” My mom replies with her Italian twang that slips out every once in a while. “I swear…there’s never a dull moment with you three around.” She says with an exasperated tone.

It’s my turn to open Emme’s gift. It’s a clear glass dildo with a red wavy design inside, it’s really pretty. “Awww…thanks, hun. I love it! You so know me.” I give her a hug.

I get up and distribute my gifts. I give each of them a trilogy book set, it’s time they get to know all about “Mr. Fifty Shades of Fucked Up,” they may not appreciate the books now, but they’ll definitely thank me later. Since they’re the only people on this planet who haven’t read this series, I chose to buy it for them. I make them promise to give the books a chance. They do and that’s good enough for me.

Kade is more than anxious to give us his presents. He hands us gift bags filled with “goodies.” I take the first item out, a set of Ben Wa balls with a cheetah print design on them. “Cool! Thanks, but I thought they were supposed to be silver?”

“The lady at the store recommends that you start off with the bigger ones first, the ones the size of quarters. Then you can work your way down to the smaller, heavier silver balls that are the size of pennies. See…I listen to you.” Kade says with a thoughtful expression as if we’re discussing a heartfelt topic.

“Awesome.” I look at my new toy with wonder.

The next gift is a small tube, China Shrink Cream. It’s a vaginal muscle tightening cream. It takes me a moment for it to register. Then I become distracted from Kade’s laughter.

“It’s cream to make your coochie nice and tight!” Now, Kade’s laughing so hard, he’s holding onto his stomach and has tears.

“Hey! What are you trying to say? I’ve never had any complaints! How would you know if I need this cream?” I’m appalled.

“I don’t know if you need it, but it’s the best ten bucks I’ve spent. The expression on your face is priceless! Don’t worry ladies, I bought you all the same things I got my Cheesecake. And before you start talking shit, Em, know that I bought the cream before you and I did the wild monkey dance. So, please don’t get offended.” Now, Kade is taking deep breaths doing his best to be serious. He fails miserably.

My mom glares at him. “Little boy, I swear. How is it that after all these years, you still manage to shock me?”

“He’s a pervert, Victoria! I don’t know why I even feel surprised anymore when it comes to him.” Emme adds.

“Let me finish digging into my bag of goodies.” I interrupt. The rest of the gifts are nipple clamps, flavored lubricants, and playing cards with sexual positions on them.

“I swear, you can be such an ass sometimes, but even your cream joke shows me how much you think of us. I love you, Kade. You’re the bestest bestie ever!” I throw myself on top of him and give him a big hug. I walk over and sit between my mom and Emme, putting my arms around them. “Mom, Emme you two ladies rock and I’ll love you always. Thanks everyone for the gifts. How does a movie marathon sound?”

“It sounds lovely, sweetie. But, ummm…you still have one last gift.” My mom looks nervous.

“From you?” I ask with confusion clear in my voice.

“No. It’s from Josh, but it’s technically not for you since he knew you wouldn’t accept anything from him. It’s for Betty. I told him not to go overboard because I knew you wouldn’t take it if that were the case.”

“Oh.” My feelings are in turmoil just from the sound of his name. I can’t allow him to have such an effect on me. “Well, if it’s for my car then let me see what it is before I decide whether or not I should keep it.” I open up the small gift box. I pull out a bead chain with two silver dog tags surrounded by tiny diamonds. One of the tags has a picture of Betty Boop and the other has one of Betty Page lightly engraved. I love the thoughtful gift. Because it’s the Bettys, I decide not to return his present.