“You're name?” Frederick quirked his brown eyebrows.
“No. Dawn's my name. Koti is the name of the restaurant that we'll meet at tonight.”
Frederick's jaw line twitched as if he was holding in laughter. “Okay. Any other instructions, Dawn?”
“Wear pink.” I took my now heavy bag from him. “I like my men in pink.”
“Very funny.” Max put that camera to his eye to take another picture.
I displayed my finger right as he snapped. “And another thing, you never told me why you two were famous.”
“I did.” Frederick nodded.
“No you didn't. You said your parents own Prism which is pretty impressive, but that’s your parents. What do you two do?”
Frederick tilted my way. He was close. So near that I could feel the gentle whisper of his breath against my skin. His cologne embraced and touched me like I'm sure the man would, if given the chance. “We're in the business of lust.”
I stepped back. “Well, too bad I'm already taken care of in that department.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No, but I have friends.”
He licked his lips again. I was really starting to detest the way his tongue's movements snared my attention to the point that I couldn’t look away.
“I feel really bad for these friends, Dawn.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“They'll be nothing once you and I become friends.”
My brain wasn’t intrigued, but my body reacted with warmth. It seemed that my flesh was willing to forgive Max and Frederick's bad lines just for the chance to see if they were all talk or not.
“Have a nice day, Frederick.” I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned away. “Nice meeting you, Max.”
Twenty feet into my defiant and hopefully sexy walk, I realized that I left my plastic smoothie cup, blanket, and rented umbrella back there with them. I glanced over my shoulder.
There they stood among my things, rock hard and pulsing with desire.
How the hell did I not start touching myself when they first came up to me? Oh yeah, I know. They opened their mouths like men do and said stupid things.
I decided not to go back to them and just head to the car. The blanket had been a four dollar deal at Goodwill, the bottle just one of many I filled with breakfast smoothies. As far as the umbrella, there'd already been a five-dollar charge for if I wanted to leave the thing there and not return it to the beach rental’s office.
A nine-dollar loss is not worth going back into the lions’ den.
And they were lions, bad pick-up lines or not. They were the kings of their pack, rich, sexy, and utterly over-confidant. I was sure the photography line worked on many women, hoping to just get a few seconds in their presence. Maybe the guys shared the women or something. I could sit for hours thinking about the sensual things these two did to spend their days.
They’re odd, but hey, who am I to judge? Either way, they won't be sharing me, but they definitely will be splitting my bill.
ACT ONE
Chapter 2
Frederick
Dawn has taste.
Koti's restaurant menu boasted some delicious possibilities. The food was a fusion of Cuban and Japanese cuisine, a combination I never knew existed, but was excited to find out. Instead of typical tuna or salmon rolls there were ones filled with mojo marinated pork and rolled with caramel salted plantains. The chef was a genius and regardless, if Dawn arrived or not, I’d planned to enjoy myself by diving into great food.
“She’s not coming,” Max mumbled.
Ignoring him, I scanned the captivating restaurant’s decor.
A multicolored mosaic of tiles served as the walls—aquamarine blues outlined jagged green crystals, copper circles dotted silver stones. They glittered in the dim lighting and soared high up into the air where massive sculptures dangled, twisted, and turned. The black stone sculptures were nude bodies tangled and intertwined into each other.
I found it fitting for tonight because I planned to be tangled and nude with Dawn as soon as our forks hit our empty plates and it was time to go.
“This chick's too hard. I vote for another woman.” Max checked his watch. While I drooled over the entrees’ descriptions, his menu lay untouched on his side of the table. He'd been flicking his thumb against his watch all night which meant he was on edge. “She's fucking twenty minutes late now. Is she fucking serious? She's beautiful, but not that much.”
“Things happen.” I sipped my glass of red wine. “You're just pissed she didn't fall for the photo shoot trick.”
“No I’m not. Trust me. I'll get a naked picture of her eventually.” He waved my comment away. “Damn, did you see that sensational ass of hers?”
I'd more than saw it. I'd been thinking about the possibilities that nice cushion could provide me. Bent over my yacht's kitchen counter and her legs spread open ranked the highest of my thoughts. Taking her from behind in my Jacuzzi was another. Then there were the many whipped cream images that danced in my head. I couldn’t figure out where on her body I would put the cream first, but I damn sure knew I’d enjoy licking if off. I planned on taking her in every part of the yacht even in my brother’s room as he watched and cried in defeat. I’d give it to her everywhere.
But not the bed. Never the bed for her.
Dawn needed the unusual, something different, an experience that she'd never had before. She was too tight and wound up with her bulky books sprawled on the beach while so many men and women partied all around her. She needed some man to loosen her up, fuck her good.
And I can tell from just the way she held that book that she needs a good fuck.
Any regular person studying would've causally had the book in their hand. Yet, she gripped that volume hard, like she owned nothing else and could see no other option in life. This goal of hers to go to law school had to be some sort of desperation for something.
Desperation for what?
I didn't know, but I planned to find out.
Half of winning in this game I played with Max was that I took the time to learn each woman as well as discover their dreams and fears. Max over-sexed his game play, which turned many of them off. While he tried to flaunt his bedroom skills, I asked them questions. Once I realized the one thing that would make them happy, I became the pathway to it. If she dreamed of being an actress, I discussed how I had a movie in the works. If she'd just had her heart broken, I transformed into Romeo, catering to her needs and massaging those broken feelings.
What does Dawn need? Let’s hope it’s simple. Let’s pray she just needs to be fucked.
“Why are you over there grinning like that?” Max pinched a bit of his bread off and flung it at me.
“Stop.” I dodged the bread and watched it drop to the floor. “Can you pretend like we're out in public?” I motioned to the other people dining in immaculate clothes.
“You just make me sick with that stupid smirk on your face. If she comes, you won't win.”
“She will come and yes, I will win.” I flexed my fingers. “There are two simple facts happening right now. Although a real beauty, she probably doesn't know anybody around Miami. She’s all alone here. What type of person studies at South Beach? A person that is crying for help. Plus, by looking at that brown clump of metal that she drove away in, there's no way she can afford this place. She'll come because she has great taste in food and wouldn't miss an opportunity to try a spot that's out of her budget.”