Simple Lies Read online

  “Hey man, wait up.” Braxton was running to catch up with me. “Don’t you want to go out and celebrate tonight?”

  “Nah, I’m just gonna head back to the hotel and hit the sack.”

  “Alright, then I’m takin’ all those hot little numbers that are waiting outside those doors for you.” He pointed back at the entrance from the main event.

  “Have fun.” I waved as I kept walking.

  When I fought the big publicized fights, I always made sure to make an appearance afterwards with all the other fighters and promoters, but small events like tonight, were the ones I liked best. Even though it was still on TV, it was definitely more low key, and afterwards I would usually end up at some dive bar drinking alone, and then going back to a hotel close to whatever bar I ended up at. And tonight would be no exception.

  Tonight’s fight was in Durham, North Carolina…my hometown. When I moved to Phoenix after I made it into the UFC, I rarely if ever, made it back here unless it was to visit my cousin. Him and I were always close growing up. He was two years older than me, and we were honestly more like brothers than we were cousins. Now he was some big time lawyer in Raleigh with a long-term girlfriend, a great big house, and the nice car to go along with it. And of course, my mom had no problem reminding me every chance she got, that he was sittin’ pretty at the top. I wish I could say she thought the same about me.

  I hadn’t seen my cousin in about three years, and I promised him and myself that as soon as I had a match out here, I would visit, no matter what. But that wasn’t until later in the week, and tonight all I wanted was a cold beer, some good grub, and a nice bed to lay my head. I made my way to my favorite hotel that was about two miles away from Duke. We had spent many drunken nights at Duke back in the day, and when our drunken asses stumbled upon this gem of a hotel, it quickly became our favorite place to crash while out here.

  I checked in, and slowly made my way up to my room. I took a quick shower, threw on my favorite black t-shirt, a pair of tattered jeans and my boots, then made my way outside. The humidity hit me in the face as I opened the door, causing me to take in a deep strangled breath. As much as I loved North Carolina, the humidity was something I could do without. I pushed my hand back through my hair, messing it up a little bit, then slid my key card into my back pocket as I started walking to my favorite hole in the wall bar, Riley’s.

  When I opened the door, I was instantly greeted by adoring fans, and the employees who knew me, probably better than my own family. I waved at a few of the fans in the corner, and then pulled up a seat at the bar. I glanced up at the TV on the wall, and let out an annoyed groan as I saw the replay of my fight on ESPN.

  “What can I get for ya, Hunter?”

  “Hey Razor, how’s it goin’?”

  “It’s goin’.” He laughed. “The usual?”

  “Yeah, and make it a double, please.” Razor pulled out a small rocks glass and filled it with Jameson. I threw it back, relishing the burn that scorched my esophagus, leaving a heated trail throughout my insides. “Another, please.”

  “Of course. Good fight tonight, man. You could’ve given that guy a little bit of a chance though.” He joked, and I laughed along with him.

  “Now, what’s the fun in that?” I shrugged, as I turned to glance around the bar. There were far more people in the place tonight than I had ever seen it. “Why so busy tonight?”

  “Well, besides our local hero fightin’ tonight?” He chuckled. “We got Riptide to play.”

  “No way! Dude, I love those guys. You know, if I wouldn’t have made it as a fighter, I most definitely would’ve been a rock star.”

  “You have to know how to carry a tune to be a rock star.” He laughed.

  “Shut up, dick!” I joked back. “That’s awesome. What time they goin’ on?”

  Razor glanced down at his watch, then back up at me. “In about five minutes. You should stick around. I can introduce you when they’re done, if ya want.”

  “That’d be awesome. Yeah, I’ll stick around.”

  I sat back with my drink as my eyes drifted to the flat screen on the wall. The fights were still goin’ on, so I watched the rest of my buddies, while Razor ran around helping the new slew of college goers that had just pushed through the doors. After I finished my drink, I glanced down the bar to see where Razor was, but when I saw that he was super busy down at the other end, I reached over the bar, and poured myself another drink. When I spun myself around to look out at the new faces that were quickly filling up the bar, my eyes instantly stopped, and my mouth went dry as I caught sight of one of the most beautiful girls I have ever seen. And just like that…my night got a little bit more interesting.

  THREE

  Hadley

  Bad decision making and drunken debauchery were in full swing as we walked into the bar. I honestly didn’t know what to expect, given the fact that I tended to stay in most nights…okay every night, but this place didn’t seem too bad. I knew I was missing out on what was considered “the best years” of my life, but half of the time I had a boyfriend, and the other half of the time, I was studying my ass off. I wasn’t about to party away my future like everyone else at this school.

  I held tight onto PJ’s hand as we pushed our way into the extremely crowded bar. I expected there to be a lot of people, but I could barely move in this place without running into somebody. PJ started pulling me in the direction of the bar, and I kept fidgeting with my skirt as it easily crept up my legs. That’s what I get for letting PJ dress me. I was your basic jeans and t-shirt kind of girl, with the occasional cute dress when I went out with Ryan, but PJ was your short skirt, tight shirt kind of girl and tonight…so was I.

  “What do you want to drink?” PJ shouted in my ear. “And don’t you dare say water.” She gave me the dirtiest look, and I knew that somehow or another, tonight I would be drunk.

  “Jameson and ginger-ale.” I shouted back with a wide smile.

  “Done.” She cheered.

  PJ let go of my hand and waved over a bartender. Of course he immediately came running over to take her order, and I couldn’t help but be a little bit jealous at the fact that she never went unnoticed. I glanced around the bar as I waited for PJ, noticing that almost every single person from my creative writing class was here, and already wasted. There was a band playing in the far corner, and they were actually really good. I let my hips sway to the music, trying to give myself over to the fun atmosphere, but it was short lived because just then, my phone started to vibrate in my hand. I quickly looked at the screen and saw Ryan’s picture light up my screen. I turned to find PJ further away from me than she was before.

  “PJ?” I shouted, but she still didn’t turn around. “PJ!” I shouted louder, and she finally turned towards me. I held up my phone so she could see Ryan’s picture on my phone, and she vigorously shook her head no. Before I had a chance to answer, he had hung up and PJ was practically running full speed right for me.

  “Don’t you dare answer that or call him back. Tonight is our night. He can wait. God knows he makes you wait enough.”

  I shook my head never realizing just how much PJ disliked Ryan. “Fine. I won’t call him back.” I scowled. “Now give me my drink.” I snatched my drink out of her hand and scowled at her when I noticed she had two shot glasses full of liquid in her other hand.

  “Now before you say no, just hear me out.” She laughed. “You’ll like it, I promise.”

  I shook my head and smiled as I threw back the shot, then sat the glass down on a nearby table. I wasn’t exactly sure what I had just drank, but it was absolutely delicious, and for the first time in a long time, I wanted to drink more. I took a sip from my glass, and pulled PJ over to a small table that just opened up, one that was close to the stage and the amazingly hot guys that were performing.

  “Oh, nice seats.” She joked.

  “A little bit of eye candy never hurt anyone.” I laughed.

  I tugged on the hem of my skirt so I cou
ld sit down without flashing my expensive and almost non-existent panties at everyone. Although judging by the look on the lead singer’s face, I was pretty sure he wouldn’t have minded. I flashed him a flirty smile as I ran my fingers back through my long hair. He was absolutely gorgeous, with arms big enough to put my in a sleeper hold in less than two seconds. He was covered in tattoos and had a few facial piercings, making me wonder if he had any other piercings in certain other places. I felt a hard slap against my hand, and I glanced over at PJ, ready to kick her ass.

  “Look at you being all flirty with a guy in the band. I don’t know what has come over you, but I like it!” We both started laughing, just as the song ended.

  I turned to look back at the lead singer again, but he was no longer on stage. When I turned to look back at PJ, I stuck my bottom lip out and pretended to pout. Taking it one step further, I pretended to cry, but when PJ didn’t start laughing along with me, I turned to see what she was looking at behind me. That’s when I came face to face with the hottie from the stage. All the blood rushed to my face, and I could feel the ten different shades of red that I started to turn as I sat there staring into this guy’s gorgeous green eyes.

  “Well, hey there.” He smiled.

  “Hey.” The way he was looking at me was disconcerting, but I decided to play along. “You guys are really good.”

  “Thanks. Can I get you a drink?”

  I held up my almost empty glass, and smiled. “Sure.”

  “I’ll be right back.” He leaned in close to my ear as he spoke, and I could feel my body responding almost instantaneously.

  When I looked over at PJ, she was bouncing up and down on her barstool with excitement. All I could do in that moment was laugh hysterically. The one night I decide to go out, and I just so happen to be on a break with my long-term boyfriend, I end up hookin’ the lead singer of a band. Who would’ve known?

  “Damn girl, I can’t believe this shit. Do you know how hard I try to get the attention of the bands that play here? Ugh, I hate you.” She laughed.

  “Oh please, you get hit on non-stop.” I glanced over in the direction of where he went, but I couldn’t see him anywhere. “Where the hell did he go to get me a drink, China?” When I glanced back at PJ, the look on her face was one I had witnessed one too many times before. My face fell in disappointment as I turned and saw the lead singer bending over, kissing some blonde chick at the bar. Go figure.

  PJ reached out and grabbed my arm. “His loss.” She shouted.

  I shrugged my shoulders, and slammed back the rest of my drink. “Hey, I’m gonna go to the bathroom real quick, will you grab me another drink when the waitress comes around?” PJ nodded, and I stood and made my way to the back of the bar.

  When I came out of the restroom a few minutes later, I noticed that our table had grown exponentially in size. There were now four guys standing around PJ. She was playfully touching one guy’s arm, while smiling at another one at the same time. It was ridiculous how easy she could get a man’s attention. I loved her to death, but it was sometimes hard to go out with her. Before I started walking over to the table, I noticed that she hadn’t even gotten us new drinks yet. Go figure. Instead of going back over to the table and fighting off the sea of men to talk to PJ, I headed for the bar.

  When a guy at the bar walked away, I quickly snuck in there, trying to flag down the bartender, but he was busy talking to some guy at the other end. I started to get antsy as I stood there impatiently waiting for anyone to come take my order. A few more minutes passed, and now I was just starting to get pissed off. I glanced back at our table making sure that PJ wasn’t alone and wondering where I was, but lucky for me, she was still busy chatting up the same pathetically hopeless guys that were there before. When I turned back around, I almost slammed right into some guy’s face, causing me to lose my balance. I could feel myself headed for the floor, but suddenly a pair of strong tattooed arms reached out and caught me before I could even come close to the ground.

  I looked up, eyes wide, and smiled at the perfect stranger who saved me from what could have been the most embarrassing moment of my life. “Thank you.” I muttered, as my hands tightly gripped onto his bulging biceps. When he pulled me back into a standing position, I quickly jerked my hands away, thinking that I was leaving nail indents by how hard I was holding onto him. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why are you apologizing?” He laughed.

  “I’m not sure.” I smiled, and I could feel the blush creeping up my cheeks. “Thank you, again.”

  “No worries. I’m glad I could save you.” He winked, and I fell so deep into the sea of blue staring back at me, that I almost forgot where I was. “Can I buy you a drink?”

  I couldn’t help the laugh that escaped between my lips as his voice caught me completely off guard. “You know, I’ve heard that line before, and now he’s making out with that girl.” I pointed at the lead singer who was now full on making out with the blonde girl as he had her pinned against the back wall.

  “Wow. Now that’s a classy guy, you sure you don’t wanna go see if you can join in?” He laughed.

  “He is all class.” I joked back. “I think I’m good though. Who knows what those two may or may not have.” We both laughed, and I couldn’t help but creepily stare at the amazingly hot guy in front of me.

  “So, how about that drink?” He whispered against my neck.

  My eyes fluttered shut as the deep hoarseness of his voice ignited something deep inside of me. My nipples hardened beneath the thin silk tank that I was wearing and with every graze, I could feel myself getting more turned on. “Yes.” I moaned. I was instantly pulled out of my sexually arousing trance when I heard the way I answered him. I was afraid to look up at him, but when I eventually opened my eyes, there was no sign of him laughing at me. It was actually the complete opposite. His eyes were full of lust and desire. Desire for me, and even though I found it odd that a man other than Ryan would be looking at me that way, I also found it overwhelmingly arousing.

  His arm slipped around my waist, pulling me close to his side as his lips lightly grazed the hypersensitive skin on my neck as he spoke. “You sure you still want that drink?” His face was only inches away from mine, and all I could do was nod.

  Without losing his grip on me, he motioned for the bartender, who immediately came over. From what I could tell, they knew each other. He ordered our drinks, knowing exactly what I wanted, and then led me over to a barstool that was close by. I threw back my drink out of sheer nervousness, and then turned in the direction of PJ to see if she was still occupied. When I didn’t see her anywhere, part of me started to worry. But that feeling was short lived, as I saw her red head of curls headed in my direction. I excused myself for a second, and made my way over to where PJ was.

  “Hey, who’s the hottie?” She slurred.

  I could tell she was more than tipsy, but that was a usual occurrence for PJ on the weekends, so I didn’t worry too much about it. “He saved me from falling face first on the ground.”

  “Shut up!” She slapped my arm as I let out a nervous laugh.

  “You were busy, so I figured I would just hang with him for a few.”

  “There’s this huge party in one of the dorms, the hot as sin guy over there with the mohawk, just invited us. You wanna go?” She pointed at the group of guys that were over at our table, but I couldn’t tear myself away from the mysterious man behind me.

  “I think I’ll…stay.” I was hesitant to do so, but when I looked back at the delicious man still waiting for me, all doubt went out the window. With one look from him, I knew where I was headed tonight, and it wasn’t back to my dorm…alone.

  FOUR

  Declan

  I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the amazingly beautiful blonde in front of me. I wasn’t exactly sure what her and her girlfriend were talkin’ about, but when she glanced back at me, I could see lust cloud her vision, and my pants became uncomfortably tight as my desire for her
grew. I slammed back the remaining liquid in my glass, and immediately needed another one if I was going to remain sane around her. Before I knew it, she was sauntering back over to my side, and all but straddling me, right there in front of the overly crowded bar.

  I looked deep into her glowing blue eyes, suddenly losing all logic. I wrapped my arms tightly around her waist, pulling her as close to me as possible without taking her right here on this very table. I dipped my head down to the base of her throat, letting out a long breath of air as I worked my way up to her jaw line. Tracing the bone all the way up to her ear, I stopped just below it and expelled the breath I was holding. I could feel her desire for me warm against my leg, and I just couldn’t bring myself to stop. I wanted to push her to the point of no return. I wanted to push her far enough that she grabbed me by the shirt, pulled me across the bar of crowded people into the bathroom, and took advantage of me. Just thinking about it had me hard as a rock.

  I let my tongue trace the outside of her ear, and just as she started to let out a small moan…I stopped. But before she could pull away from me like I knew she would, I held her tightly against me and whispered so low, that only she could hear my words. “Is there a boyfriend I need to worry about?” I loosened my grip on her just enough for her to answer.

  “Is there a girlfriend that I should worry about?” Then she smiled that cock-hardening smile.

  “No.” I stated matter-of-factly with a smile. “Your turn, sweetheart.” I could sense her trepidation. “I just wanna make sure I’m not steppin’ on anyone’s toes, is all.”

  She stood and straddled my leg, as her hands slowly started making their way up my torso, then to the sides of my face. She pulled my face close to hers, and leaned so close to my ear that I could feel her hardened nipples poking my chest. “No.” Was all she whispered, and it was enough for me to grab her face and pull it against mine.