Truth Meets Love Read online

  She obviously guards her privacy; that is probably common in her line of work, as well. When she is ready to share more about herself, she will. Until then I will just wait her out. I have never admitted to anyone besides Cody and Mags anything about my dad. I always tell everyone my parents are dead when asked. Therefore I completely understand the need to share only "half-truth" to protect her "guard and tackle" position.

  Hadley is different--fun and so damn cute. I normally go for girls with long blonde hair or at least, that is the majority who approach me. Hadley's has character. It is angled at her jaw and it's a few different shades of auburn with blonde hues. It makes her hazel eyes look dark and sultry with her high cheekbones and wide mouth. She has a huge smile that touches me from head to toe.

  "Would you like to have some Thai and watch the latest Clint Eastwood film that's out?" she asks holding it up. Her nose is scrunched a little and her hand cocked on her hip as she turns to walk back out to the living room.

  I am in heaven: she likes Clint! Gran Torino was one of my latest favorites, but I hadn't seen this flick. However, I could think of no better way to spend my evening. Who wouldn't want to be cuddled up that body for two hours straight, at least? I grabbed two beers and put the others in the fridge, then followed her to the couch. She handed me a carton of veggies, chicken and noodles, and I handed her a beer. We clicked bottles like we were old high school buddies reminiscing. I am surprised but hanging out with her feels like hanging out with dudes. However, this is so much better. They don't have those tits and that ass and mouth and that giggle!

  She's not high-maintenance or whiny or clingy. Those were some of the major drawbacks I had endured with Nicole and many others I tried dating over the years. I hadn't ventured back into full-on relationship status since Nicole and I ended. At that time I was only 20. Hadley has got a bit of tough on the outside, soft in the middle effect. She's quirky: confident but kind of shy in intimate situations. She's decisive and forthright but not in an aggressive way. She's full of contradictions. It makes her almost seem like a mystery…one I would really like the chance to solve.

  However, I am still going to great measures to ensure I don't hook my wagon to any women with Nicole's "features" ever again.

  I could tell Hadley was no Nicole after one basketball game. Hadley and I made out when I collected on a debt for a wager she lost. The silly woman thought she could take me in the NBA Finals X-Box game. I bet her a pass to "first base" that she wouldn't. However, I had to admire her tenacity. This experience was not one I have ever even come close to, nor what I was used to when meeting a woman I was interested in. This whole encounter changed my perspective and my hope that it could really be this easy and fun to be with someone I was more attracted to than anyone I had ever met. Shilo, my niece, plays me in a few rounds occasionally but not any of the women I have ever dated. Definitely not Nicole.

  Hadley was different. She made jokes and teased me about men dismissing a woman's value during the movie. It was a major theme in the show and I am guessing in her life, too. However, she also blamed women who took it and didn't stand up for themselves or measured their value by the seeking validation from those same men. She said that if she had a daughter she would make sure she understood that "no one can make you feel lacking in intelligence or beauty if you don't give them the power to devalue your worth."

  As we continue to watch the movie and I am lying back on the couch, I start to let my mind wander. My hands desperately want to follow, but I don't let them act on my dirty thoughts. She is lying partly across me and tucked into my side. Her one arm is draped over my chest halfway and her head is on my chest just under my chin. I think she's asleep. I keep strumming her back over the spot I know the tattoo resides and up the side over her ribs, where the tiny stars line the scar running up her side.

  The contradictions with this Sweet Tart were endless. They were also making my mouth water.

  Hadley-

  I think I bit his lip while we were kissing. When I told him, "I don't sleep with my tenants" he joked that he was moving in with me instead. I almost asked him to and not to leave, ever.

  I am snuggled into him on the couch watching our movie. I have no memories in my recollection that are as perfect as this.

  No boys wanted to just date me before I left the club. In college I was focused and after the Luke incident I was good for awhile. However, all of them wanted to score immediately, even Luke. He deemed it an "entitlement" because he was my "boyfriend" at the time. I think I was more curious than anything and although Luke wasn't great boyfriend material, we did have a lot of fun when we went out together. However, none of them just wanted to talk and make out with me. They wanted to have me suck their dicks and fuck me hard or wanted to know if they brought their buddy if I would give them a two-for-one deal. I had heard it all and I happily declined, of course, even if there were consequences for my actions. If they felt the rejection was harsh they would hurl insults about me being a "cheap slut" or a "whore" until the bouncers intervened at the club, which always begged the question if they really felt that way about me, then why were they so miffed about not being able to capitalize on their intended target? To me that said a lot more about them than me. It happened only occasionally, but I had to let them know when they were crossing my "personal boundaries."

  She didn't.

  I met Luke in college and thought it was love at the time… I was wrong. We lasted two years before he left town unexpectedly, I had heard. I thought a boyfriend seemed normal for a girl my age, and I had hormones. I liked the fantasy that must accompany love and the feeling of being wanted, even if it wasn't true love.

  I had caught the heartless ass literally with his pants bunched down around his ankles. Mr. Greyson and I were leaving for the airport for a merger meeting in Dallas. We had stopped at my place to get my laptop I had left sitting by the door at my apartment.

  I went up the stairs to my apartment to fetch it, leaving Mr. Greyson and his driver in the car. Luke was there, as always. He just kind of moved himself in and he hadn't asked or even discussed it with me, really. The rest of those details…YUCK! I don't want to even think about it.

  Let's just say he was fast in more ways than one. Luke beat me out of the building, pants still around his ankles. I was hot on heels, leaving the laptop bag still propped by the door. I opted for other devices to assist in the situation. I burst through the front entrance chasing a half-naked Luke while wielding my umbrella in my left and a golf club in my right, and our trip called for neither. Mr. Greyson's limo driver got out and took me back up to get my laptop, lock up my apartment and settle my shaking hands.

  I collected what pride I could salvage, my composure and my laptop, and climbed in the back of the limo beside Mr. Greyson. I had expected to be fired. Instead he just squeezed my hand and never mentioned a word about it.

  I am so comfortable I just want to sleep here up against Tralen all night. His heart is rhythmically sounding in my ear. I should probably at least offer him the opportunity to escape. I had put the garage door code and the keys on the counter in his new place. I forgot to lock it up after the pee crisis.

  I lift my head to peer up at his face and he grabs both my cheeks between his two big hands and claims my mouth like he doesn't want me to change anything about this moment. He clutches my tongue and drags it deep into his mouth, afraid I might have wanted him to leave. Maybe he was comfortable, and fully enjoying himself, too.

  He lets up and gently tugs at my bottom lip, and then he tucks me back down into his side after releasing my lower lip. Then he kisses my temple and snuggles back into me. I give up without a fight and fall into peaceful dreams, wrapped in Tralen's arms.

  Chapter TEN

  Move In Ready

  Tralen -

  I wake up at 4AM and she has her legs wrapped between mine. Her hand has slipped inside my sweat pants across my waist and her hand grasps my naked hip under the waistband of my sweats. I am "free bal
lin-it" since Loosey's accident on my pants earlier in the night. I have my hand up her shirt on her back and the other over my head resting on the armrest of the couch. I need to carry her to bed and get out of there before I finish what I started with her last night.

  I think she wanted to me to ask her to "dance" again. We did dance but I kept my concealed weapon holstered because I needed to be honest with her about my feelings about her, her occupation and what I had done before we take that step. I want this to work and give it a fair chance. I need to tell her what I know before we turn into something real, only to later find out it was all built on lies and we both got hurt.

  I take her jeans off and admire her turquoise silk panties underneath as I lay her in her bed and cover her up with her sheet and covers. She looks so peaceful and inviting, and I want to remember her like this--the first night we spent together. I take my phone out of my coat pocket and I snap a quick photo and cover her back up. I know I should have asked, but I just want to be able to look at her whenever I want.

  Looking at the picture on the screen and knowing the real deal is lying right below me makes me want to crawl in there and spoon her like she was made of silver.

  I kiss her forehead because I know where cuddling will have my upper and lower brain waging war… my cock. He's a bit trigger-happy; if provoked he will come out guns blazing. He has muscle memory and her proximity induces spasms he is not used to.

  Therefore, playing it safe, I leave her a note with a little request on the kitchen counter.

  Hadley-

  I open my eyes and try to remember where I am. I am in my bed… NO… was it all a dream? Was I just dreaming Tralen was here almost all night playing video games watching movies and making out with me? I have never done that and I have never had so much fun in my life. It was perfect.

  It was real…it was too good not to be. He is so easy to be around and he wasn't all paws and sex. He said he really wants to be with me "in all ways offered to him" as he kissed my neck. He said he wants to "get to know me better" and "not rush anything." Who says that? Not any guys I have ever met before. I know that much.

  I Tralen-Dream-Walk out of my room to the living area and I see the evidence that brings all the memories back as I head to the kitchen for coffee.

  I think back to the sight of him telling me at the counter about the puppy pee. I can still feel my hand on his cock, his kiss… all those kisses… I want him back… I want all of him. I pick up the note on the counter with a pair of my black lace panties laying next to it.

  I am giddy as I read it. Outside your snoring I really enjoyed our first sleepover. I had to get to the storage sheds and go through what I want to have ready for the movers. I hope to see you later today. Thanks for dinner and a good time. It was by far my best first date ever. PS: I like the turquoise ones but can I see these on you tonight?

  I blush and scream inwardly as I spin around and start jumping up and down. Then I halt my giddy demeanor. Did I snore? Dez said I did if I was sick tired or drunk. She said it was usually if I was on my back. I sigh in relief as I remember falling asleep face-down on his chest. Then I rack my brain, but I woke up face-up in bed. What the hell what is my problem? Why do I care if he heard me snore and why can't I stop smiling? I have kissed a guy before, but not like Tralen does it. I had sex with Luke; I had an orgasm once… I think?

  I have a feeling Tralen might be able to provide redemption for the reputation of his species and their male prowess and if not, God plays some very cruel jokes sometimes.

  I plan to test that theory… tonight. He said he hadn't had a girlfriend, not in while, and am I not waiting another three years to experience the kind of passion I had with the mystery man in the hallway a couple of weeks ago. Luke was it besides mystery goatee dude, and I want to forget them all.

  I want Tralen to be only one I remember when I close my eyes.

  Tralen-

  I have everything moved in and I have spent the last five hours trying to get it all organized. I am looking for my phone so I can text Hadley just to see what she is doing and if she has plans this evening. I thought about asking her out to dinner. I saw her leave this morning on a jog earlier and she hasn't come back yet. I am starting to wonder if I should be worried when I see a sleek black Mercedes pull up and a dirty-blond wavy-haired man with a slight muscular build steps out and rounds the car to open the passenger side door… letting my girl out of his car? What the fuck is she doing with that guy?

  Oh no this is what it is like with a girl like her and I walked right into it.

  Wait, I know that Jack-Off. He is some big-wig corporate attorney that works for Greyson Capital, the company that is acquiring Mathis Engineering Inc. What is Hadley doing with him?

  Maybe he's the one that gave her the watch. FUCK… thanking her for all the years of "service." I am going to be sick. I am the worst judge in women. Hadley is just like Nicole--even worse. She is a fucking escort, for Christ's sake.

  I grab my jacket, pulling my phone and wallet off the table and putting them in my inside coat pocket. I decide as I make a beeline for the pickup in the drive that I am going to Jake's Sports Bar and Grill to watch the NBA playoff game. I'll just have a few beers and wait until a reasonably late hour to come back to my new townhouse.

  When I finally get home and make my way to the top of the porch the motion detector light brightens the walk. Sitting in front of my door is a basket. It has a variety of movies, games, chocolates, crackers, cheeses, salami, a few bottles of imported beers, and the black lace panties are tied around the handle, with the note, I guess I missed giving you a proper welcome on your first night home. Sweet Dreams.

  Hadley-

  I hear him pull up outside but I am not getting up. I am not sure where he went but it is getting late. He didn't even call or text me today. I wonder if he has somebody else with him. In my house!!! Well, technically, it is just my building and after this morning it is his home for the next 12 months.

  I don't understand; maybe he is just busy with the move and has to go to work tomorrow. I decide that I am not going to stress over a guy… especially when I just met him less than 24 hours ago.

  Anyway, I got my closing notes prepared for the meeting at Mathis Engineering Inc., and I will be meeting with Mr. Greyson and Mr. Harrison for dinner Monday evening. Ben was kind enough to drop me home after I jogged to the office and worked for a few hours researching the company we acquired and are visiting tomorrow. He offered to give me a lift home when I ran into him in the elevators on my way out.

  Ben dropped me off just before I heard Tralen leave. I had shaved everything in anticipation of clearing all obstacles and clearing paths for his hands, mouth and anything else that comes up! I waited at my place for him to come back. I had the basket and myself ready to take over to offer as a proper welcome, but he was out most of the night. After I got tired I decided to just drop the basket off on his porch steps with a note that sends a clear message that it was his loss.

  I drift off and then I hear a chirp from my phone and I wonder who would be texting me this late. It is Tralen.

  D: Thanks for the basket and giving up your panties for me to sleep with I love it. Good Night. Do you have plans tomorrow evening?

  I so want to say that I am free but I have dinner plans with Mr. Greyson; no way I can brush him off.

  H: Unfortunately, I have dinner plans for work tomorrow evening and it may run late. Not sure what your schedule looks like, but I don't have any plans besides work for the rest of week or weekend.

  Chapter ELEVEN

  Wellness Room

  Tralen-

  I am at work. I didn't sleep worth a shit. Hadley was already gone when I left this morning. I kept wondering how many dinner dates she goes on for "work" and if this is really the life she wants for herself. She could be so much more. However, she says she doesn't have plans for the rest of the week. Maybe she only does it for supplemental income? I glance down at the time on my watch.
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br />   There is a big closing meeting in five minutes and I guess one of the "Head Honchos" is going to be presenting on the merger consolidation timelines, plans and resource allocation. It will most likely be another snoozer, like the HR one discussing moving out benefits, plans and 401Ks. Therefore I brought my laptop, so I could work on my waterlines blueprint I am drafting up for the city sewage plant. It is our largest contract in the pipeline and I will have it completed by the end of the week.

  I head to the boardroom and take a seat around the table. Besides myself, there are about 10 others from the company that will be managing decisions related to the merger guidelines and expediting our consolidation. We need it wrapped up so we can compete for other government contracts that require a water planning expert. That is my specialty, and I gather why I was picked to sit at this table.

  I am studying the program on my laptop when the room starts to fill up and I hear some familiar voices surrounding me in the chairs. Then I hear that giggle and the fingers that were flying over the keys freeze on my laptop. I risk a peek up and see her with her arm on his coat sleeve, laughing as he leans into her.

  It's her, Hadley--what the hell is she doing here? She can't be Greyson's "Right Hand Man" leading this consolidation? It is one of their largest and is almost a billion dollar deal. She is just a stripper, isn't she?

  No, correction. She was never just a "stripper" to me. She is the "right hand" SVP of Mergers and Acquisitions, I see on the agenda right in front of me: Hadley Masters. She is a whirlwind of contradictions, is what she is.