Pinned Up (Pinned Up Trilogy) (9 page)

“You did? That’s sweet, but very presumptuous to assume I would go on a date with you. What did you buy?” I ask curiously.

“I’m all about taking chances. Well, not really, but when it comes to you, I’m willing to take a risk.” He says earnestly, right away he changes his tone to a more playful one. “I bought a Range Rover. I’ve never owned anything that wasn’t a truck, so this was a big step for me. There was no way I was buying a car; sedans and coupes just don’t do it for me.” He admits.

I decide not to address the issue of the KO initials again. We can discuss that topic at a later time. “I like your truck, even though it’s really loud, it’s grown on me. So, your SUV will have to wait to be driven because there won’t be a date in our plans this afternoon. But, I will go on another non-date with you. We can just hang out and see what the early day has in stored.”

“Why can’t I take you on a date? Give me the opportunity to wine and dine you.” He gets serious all of a sudden.

“Wine and dine me?” I laugh. He’s just too cute. “Oh, you’ll wine and dine me, all right. I’ll be sure to burn a hole in your pockets. You asked for it.” I tease him.

“So, is this a date? Because if it’s not, we’re going Dutch.” Josh smacks my ass as I head to the nook table ready to polish off my breakfast.

“Not a date, but you will be feeding me. Oh, and I’m not the salad eating type so be prepared to spend some money on me.” I joke.

“Hey, speaking of…do you cook?” He asks as he scrunches his face.

“Do I cook? Of course! I can’t bake to save my life, but I sure do know my way around the kitchen otherwise. Besides, even if I didn’t know how to cook, you don’t have to worry that sexy little head of yours, I’ll ALWAYS have something for you to eat.” I wink at him coquettishly and begin to giggle.

“Now, that’s what’s up!” He puts up his hand for a high five and gives me a cocky grin. He’s so sexy.

As we’re heading out and are in the car, a fierce panic hits me. Instantly, Josh notices the change in my behavior. “What’s wrong, lovely lady?” He asks with concern. Embarrassed I admit to being afraid of driving down the steep hill. To my surprise, he laughs instead of being consoling.
Jerk.

“I’m sorry, but I just never pegged you as the scary type. You come across as invincible, as if nothing can touch or frighten you. You have nothing to be afraid of. Forgive me?” He asks with a playful smirk on his face.

I’m so terrified; I’m immune to his flirting and sex appeal. Besides, I’m upset that he laughed at my expense. I cross my arms and stare him down. What do I want exactly? A sincere apology? No. I’m buying time.

“Nina, I apologized already. Stop looking at me all crazy.” Now, he’s getting serious.

I don’t care. I refuse to be in the car as he goes down this hill. Fuck! But I can’t walk down this hill either.
What do I do? What do I do?
Panic is rapidly overwhelming my thoughts.

“Valentina Moretti, don’t play chicken with me. You don’t wanna test me.” He says with a stern expression.

What? I can’t back down now. Ugh! Why must I have so much damn pride? As I’m contemplating my next move, I hear Josh say, “Okay, you asked for it.” Then drives off at a ridiculous speed down the vertical street.

My eyes pop out of their sockets as my whole body tightens. Once we reach the bottom of the street, I turn to Josh and yell, “Asshole! I can’t believe—” Immediately, he interrupts my tirade by kissing me with a strong force. I lose myself to the kiss and wonder what the big deal was about driving down the steep hill to begin with. For years, I avoided every vertical street in San Francisco due to panic of having to go down them. With just one moment of being with Josh, he puts my fears to rest. I feel safe with him, a feeling that was stolen from me so many years ago. I disregard the memory. We both laugh in between kisses and then head to my house. He drops me off and states he’ll be picking me up in two hours, just enough time for me to ride Lucifer and run a few miles.

As I enter my house, Emme is waiting for me in the living room watching TV. “Hey! Where have you been?” Emme asks with extreme curiosity. “We were supposed to go to your mom’s house for breakfast. I ended up going with Kade. Couldn’t pass up Victoria’s pastries with coffee.” She confesses.

I hear a door slam from the hallway. Kade rushes to the living room and yells, “Don’t you say one fuckin’ word! Let me get comfortable. This shit is gonna be good!” He throws himself onto the couch. “Okay. I’m ready. Shoot. And don’t you dare skip any juicy details! First, tell me…where did you go? What did you talk about? Is he a good kisser? Does he know how to fuck? Did you suck his dick? Did you give him something to eat? Come on, woman! I don’t have all day! Tell me. My curiosity is killing me!”

Emme interrupts before I have a chance to say anything. “Why the hell must you always be so vulgar, Kade? Don’t you have a filter? You’re so raunchy. Show some class.” She rolls her eyes at him.

Annnnd…they’re off.

“Vulgar? Raunchy? Because I speak my mind and don’t put up a front? That makes me real, honey. You only wish someone would get dirty and vulgar with you and fuck you right for once. Instead, you live your life uptight with a stick up your ass, always worried about how society views you, and trying to impress people who don’t give a fuck about you. Don’t play the prissy role with me. It doesn’t suit you and I will call you out.” Kade laces his next words with venom. “You’re so full of shit. You dated a married man who had kids. Were you being classy when you were on your knees sucking his dick and breaking up his marriage?” Kade waits for Emme’s response with an evil smirk on his face.

Emme is so furious, her leg is shaking. “I didn’t know he was married! What I do behind closed doors is my business. I don’t publicize my sexual encounters to others. Some things are meant to be kept private. Don’t you worry about who I fuck or how I fuck, that’s none of your concern.” She replies with a weak attempt at maintaining some dignity.

“For such a smart girl, you sure can be dumb as fuck. I saw you and him weeks later after you found out he was married. You were screwing a married man. That makes you a dirty home wrecker. You’re in no position to be judging me. If you’re going to point the finger at me, at least make sure your hand is clean. That’s beside the point, we’re behind closed doors and Cheesecake is my best friend! I’m not asking her to spill the beans in a public setting surrounded by kids. We are in the privacy of our own home! So, if I want to be vulgar and raunchy in private, I have every right to do so!” He yells at Emme giving up the last of his composure.

“Yes, who you fuck and how you fuck them does concern me. If they were to fuck you right, I wouldn’t be dealing with your shitty judgmental attitude. Maybe cuming every once in a while might have you more laid back and fun. Instead, you walk around with high and mighty arrogance acting like your shit doesn’t stink. Baby, I hate to break the news to you, but your shit…reeks.” Kade stares at Emme willing her to continue arguing.

“Josh has a big dick!” I blurt out and pray that I can diffuse the tension.

They both turn and stare at me.

“Do you want to know the details or do you want to continue biting each other’s heads off?” I ask annoyed.

“Details.” Kade and Emme say in unison.

Chapter 5 (Nina)

My Lady

Josh and I make last minute change of plans. Kade insists we all attend tonight’s Halloween Pub Crawl where a massive crowd gathers and goes bar hopping within a five block radius beginning in the afternoon. Everyone dresses up in costumes and goes to several different bars participating in this event. Each bar provides drink specials that are too good to pass up. Josh agrees to meet up with Kade, Emme, and me at a bar on Union Street in the middle of the afternoon. I remind him to wear a costume.

Emme shows up at my house wearing a tight fitted black ensemble. Her hair is swept to the left with a turquoise flower on the right side above her ear. She has a sugar skull design painted on her entire face and looks pretty bad ass with the intricate details matching her flower. Kade is in a foam box that looks like a three drawer stand with a leopard print nightshade as a hat, no pants, and knee high white socks…a one night stand. I’m dressed as a pin-up sailor girl. I opted for a sexy blue and white corset with white trousers that have a slight flair at the bottom. My hair is in reverse rolls with a large, red flower as a decorative accessory. Half my face has retro chic inspired makeup with red lipstick and cat eyeliner. On the other side, my face is painted white with a sugar skull design consisting of black and red details to match my flower. Emme and I agreed to implement the sugar skull designs in our costumes in honor of the Day of the Dead which is in a few days.

“Damn, girl! Can you say boobilicious? You’ve got some wicked curves. Your waist has always been small, but that corset makes your tits, ass, and hips look crazy hot! Fifty bucks says that Josh grabs your ass within five minutes of seeing you. There’s no way he’ll be able to keep his hands and eyes to himself. Look at you…sex on heels! Rawr…” Kade winks at me and gives me his signature devilish grin showing off his dimple.

I can’t help, but giggle. “You’re so sick and twisted. I love you. Placing bets about me getting felt up is so us. I love your costume by the way, it suits you. Thank goodness you don’t have chicken legs; a man with chicken legs is so unsexy. Yuck.”

“Amen to that, sister!” We high five each other. Kade turns and faces Emme who’s busy playing Words with Friends on her phone. “Your makeup looks sick! You’ve got mad skills, boo. You should wear your face like that more often, it’s definitely an improvement.”

Emme glares at Kade. “Says the one night stand, you might as well write ‘DICK with STDs’ on your forehead. Come to think of it, yeah…your costume suits you perfectly.” Emme gives Kade a sweet, innocent smile that looks creepy as hell.

Kade is unaffected by Emme’s comments and replies, “I practice safe sex. I’ve been tested. I’m good. Can you say the same? So, what if I like to sample the buffet? I don’t give anyone false hope of a relationship and I’m upfront about what I expect. Many find my honesty refreshing.”

“Why do you always make references to food? And of course, I practice safe sex. I don’t want to die!” Emme exclaims.

“Hello? I used to be horizontally challenged a few years ago…remember? I’m used to making analogies with food and all aspects of life. It’s more interesting that way. Hey, can I ask you a serious question?” Kade has a somber expression on his face and waits for Emme’s response.

“Shoot. But hurry up so we can leave.” She replies impatiently.

“When was the last time you had a pickle tickle?” Kade asks with a serious expression then bursts out laughing.

Annoyed, Emme yells, “Kade! You’re such a dick!”

That’s our cue to leave and meet up with Josh.

When our group finally gathers, we’re all more than eager to commence with the partying. Josh is wearing all black; the dark tone gives him a mysterious appeal. He looks good enough to eat. When he sees me, he places a large foam magnet around his neck with baby chicks on both ends…a chick magnet.
Men.

“You look amazing. Your sugar skull is pretty bad ass.” Josh holds me in a tight embrace and gives me a soft, yet sensual kiss on the side of my neck. I smile and back away. As he’s releasing his hold on me, he manages to grab my ass, and gives me that lazy, boyish grin that is quickly becoming a weakness to me.

“That’s fifty in small bills, please!” I hear Kade yell.
Shit.

The third game of the World Series begins in the early evening. It’s a given that all bars will have the game on. We’re more than ready to get the party started.

We attend several bars. All are packed with baseball fans and partiers dressed up in costumes. Josh ends up knowing several people at each bar, mostly girls, of course. The atmosphere remains festive, fun, and full of energy. Within a short while, we’re all feeling pretty good. We’ve had several drinks and our Bay Area team is winning so far. Emme, Kade, and Josh are getting along. Josh and I have been inseparable all evening. On a few occasions, he pulls me outside just to talk; he wants to know everything about me. Politely, I manage to evade his questions and get him to tell me more about himself. Everything is going great.

We’re all at one of the bars. I excuse myself to use the restroom while Josh escorts me. He has his arm around my waist and has part of my body tightly pressed against his as he walks me across the bar. Possessive much? I don’t care. I love how he’s staking a claim on me.
Wait. What? Where did that come from?

I wait in line for what seems like forever. Why must women’s bathrooms always have a ridiculous line while the men’s restrooms rarely have any waiting? Some women can be so annoying sometimes. Just go in, handle your business, and get out! No need to add several layers of makeup or have full blown conversations in there. Get it together, ladies!

It’s finally my turn. As I’m leaving the restroom, I immediately start looking for Josh. I’m a bit surprised he’s not waiting for me, since minutes earlier he was attached to my hip. As I continue to walk, I see Josh standing by the bar with his back against it. In front of him is Nicole, I recognize her right away as the waitress from the sports bar we attended on Monday. Now, she’s completely invading his personal space. Josh sees me, leaves her, and walks over to me. He plants a kiss on my lips and attempts to lead us back to our booth. I come to a halt and press his body against mine. I lean close to his ear, “What were you talking to that girl about?” I feel my body tense and my blood begin to boil.
What the fuck? What’s that about?