Teaser/Epilogue - Feeling Reckless Yet?



Chapter One (Teaser)



I watch Ari gyrate her hips to the rhythm of the music.


It's sexy and I can't take my eyes off of her. She's an intoxicating and feverous sight to lay eyes on. A familiar heat and desire starts to rise from my center. My heart pounds in my ears and my face feels hot.


Her thick hair hangs loose and wild. Strands of it stick to her sweat sheen body, as she rocks her head back and forward. Perspiration trickles down her face, neck, and her cleavage. She lifts her arms up and spins while suggestively swaying her hips.


Moments ago, Ari had hoisted herself on top of the bar. And now she is dancing and performing for the people in the tavern. Most of whom are large harry old men. 


She is drunk. Far too drunk. Which is not unusual for her, not anymore.


Ari starts to bellow a tune from the top of her lungs in an unfamiliar language. Her words are harsh, guttural, and sound angry. I think she is singing in Russian. Which would make sense, since we are in a Russian bar at the center of Ile-de-France. What doesn't make sense is that she knows how to sing in Russian.


"Tal'yanokchka, sama. O tom, kak chernoglazyz. Svels suma."


She chants over and over while clapping her hands and stomping her feet. Even in a foreign language, her singing is horrendous. The men at the bar don't seem to care. They start to clap and sing along to the words. A few of them reach up and swat at her or pass her a shot of vodka. Which she takes.


I look over at the barkeep. He is cleaning a glass cup and watching her wearily from the other side of the bar. She is entertaining his guest, so he has yet to say anything.


The speed at which she is clapping and stomping her feet increases when a new song comes on. The men match her pace. They're getting rowdy. A man reaches up and places money in the waistband of her jeans.


It's time to go.


I get up from our table, Ari had abandoned it, and I push my way towards the bar. I reach her just as she starts a rendition of the Can-can. She kicks out and several of the glasses knock over and beer sloshes to the wooden floors. I thought it was an accident but then she continues to kick over several more glasses. The men cheer as liquor splashes everywhere and they only seem to sing louder. 


I reach up for Ari, begging her to come down with my eyes. She smiles drunkenly at me.


The barkeep comes up behind her and starts yelling at us in Russian. Which if anyone has ever been yelled at in Russian you know it's extremely intimidating. Then he proceeds to yell at me in French which isn't any less scary. I speak neither.


"Ari, come on. Get down!" I whine and reach for her hand again. She pulls it away and continues to dance.


"Crazy American! Now! Out! Bar!" The Barkeep shouts at me in English over the noise while aggressively pointing at Ari. Of course, those would be the words he knew.


I groan.


This is not how I'd wanted to spend my night. I tug at Ari's pants leg. Finally, she stops dancing. She looks at me. Her face scrunches up as if she smells something bad. I think she's about to be sick. She slumps forward and slips off the bar. I reach for her as she falls and I catch her in my arms. Her weight knocks me back and I fall back into one of the men's lap.


He huffs at our weight. Then says something in Russian in my ear. I don't understand him, but it makes me feel skeezy all over. I shove myself off his lap, struggling to bring Ari with me. She wobbles to her feet and blinks. 


She is swaying and her face has a sickly pale sheen. It really does look like she's going to be sick. I think the barkeep notices because he starts shouting even more frantically. He doesn't want the crazy American girl throwing up in his bar.


"Out! Now! Police! Police!" The barkeep is shouting and pointing at the door.


I don't need him to have good grammar syntax to get the hint. He wants us out now or he is calling the police.


"Okay! Okay, we're getting out. We're leaving!" I say frantically.


I pull her close to me and I make my way to the door. The barkeep is still yelling behind me. As we stumble towards the exit.


"No back! No back!" He snaps.


I sigh. Just great. This was the fourth bar this week we'd been banned from. This vacation wasn't turning out how I thought it would.


I struggle to bring Ari back to our flat. She can barely stand straight and I have to practically carry her through the streets. To get back to the apartment we also have to take Metro, the Paris metro system. I can barely pronounce the names of the lines let alone navigate them. I'd mostly been relying on Ari to get us where we needed to go. Fortunately, we'd been in Paris for a week now. I kind of know which colors leads to our part of the city.


What makes everything worse is the metro lines in our part of town is also one of the oldest. The metro cars are ancients. The doors have old iron latches that have to be manually opened. It takes me at least two hands to open them, though I'd seen locals do it with a quick flick of their wrist. Both of my hands are currently occupied trying to keep Ari upright.


It gets worse. Once you manage to open the doors you have to rush inside. When the ancient metro car departs, the doors have no censors and they slam shut. Limbs be damned.


Despite these obstacles, I'm still able to get Ari to our flat.


When we step inside, I look up at the narrow flight of stairs. We are staying on the sixth floor. I eyeball the small lift I'd be avoiding. It looked more like a dumbwaiter than a working elevator. It didn't look like it could hold one person let alone two, but there is no way we will make it up the stairs in her condition.


I step back into the small space and squeeze Ari in with me. I crane my neck to look at the buttons behind her. I let one of my hands drop from her and reach for the buttons. She slumps, leaning forward, and pressing her body against me.  She rests her face against my neck. Ari's lips are cool and soft. And her breath caresses my skin. Tingles start low and travels up my spine.


She smells of cigarette smoke, sweat, and booze.


Guilt fills my stomach. She's drunk, but I can't seem to control how my body reacts to her. Having her closely pressed against me in this small space is heady. I'm having a hard time keeping my mind from wandering into the gutter. We hadn't been this close since the day we'd kissed in the airport. I've been longing for her closeness. I wanted her so badly it ached.


I remember her lips on mine. Her tongue in my mouth. The taste of her.


There is a ding and we've reached our floor. 


I carefully maneuver us out of the lift, and we stumble our way to our door. When we reach it, I lean Ari up against the wall. I watch her wearily as I put the key into the lock and open the door wide.


The apartment we're staying in has two bedrooms. One of her relatives is out of town and allowing us to use it rent-free for the summer. It has two bedrooms. Really it has one bedroom with a small bathroom. And a closet that has been converted into a bedroom. The closet is just big enough to fit a twin-size bed, a tiny dresser, and a wash sink. It's where I am sleeping.


It's a tiny apartment, but it's perfect. The two "bedrooms" are separated by a room that is both the living room and the kitchen. The kitchen also serves as the foyer but it had all new appliances and nice countertops. And though the living room, which consists of only a couch and tv, is small it has huge windows that look out to the rooftops of Paris. It was a scene right out of an old French romance film.


I grab Ari by her waist. We make our way into the space and I close the door behind us. She mumbles something under her breath.


"What?" I ask.


"Bathroom." She groans.


"Right," I say and steer her towards her en-suite bathroom.


We step inside and I close the door behind us. Then I lean her against the door. She seems to be able to stand on her own well enough.


By now you are probably thinking I'm a terrible friend. How could I have let her get this dunk? Firstly, if Ari wanted to do something, she did it. There is no such thing as letting Ari do anything. And secondly, I didn't have it in me to deny her anything. After the assault, she is understandably going through a hard time. Everyone has their own coping mechanism, this was hers. She'd wanted to get blackout drunk. I could do nothing but watch and try to keep her safe. It had only been a few weeks since the incident, she just needed time.


I turn around to the sink and reach for a plastic cup. I turn on the faucet and start to fill it. I can't help but notice the orange pill bottles by the sink. They look full and have her name is on them. Curiosity gets the best of me and I turn one of the prescription bottles to read the label. Olanzapine. I start to read the next when I look up in the mirror.


Ari droops forward. I quickly turn around and catch her in my arms. Her body crashes into me and knocks me back into the counter. I wince at the pain but try to ignore it as I struggle to keep her upright.


She lifts her head up to look at me and her grey eyes meet mine. In the lighting, they look darker almost blue. Ari is on top of me. Both her arm pressed against me, resting against my chest. Her stare is clear and piercing. My cheeks grow hot at the intensity in her gaze.


"Caught me." She says in a rasp.


"Every time," I say.


Then her eyes lower to my lips and linger on my mouth. She leans her forehead against mine. I let my skin rest against hers. Her breath is warm on my lips.


It's wrong. I know I shouldn't let this go any further. I shouldn't kiss her. But I long to taste her again. It's been forever. At least it feels that way...



Book 2, Reckless, Is live...


I'm posting on Wednesday and Saturdays. With surprise updates every now and then. Follow if you'd like to know when I post surprise chapters or add it to your list.


I know I'm the worlds biggest tease

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