LIKED - A Dark Romance Novel (Story of Dangerous Obsession and Lust) Read Free Page B

looked up and out across her bedroom. “Jack?”
     
    Her voice echoed and rang off the metal in the apartment coming back to
her empty.
     
    “Like ringing bells,” she added and then shivered.
     
    Jack the Stalker was the only one that congratulated her on the movie. He
was also the only one that bought her a present tonight including her own
director/fiancé. He might be the only one in the world that gave a damn whether
Gia got paid at all.
     
    “The movie is already up for preorder?” Gia shook her head.
     
    She tapped the message to give a reply. Her fingers hovered over the
keypad on her screen as she considered the oddity of it all. She typed: “That’s
okay. You don’t have to vanish. Cool gift. We all get creepy sometimes.
Splatter Love, Gia.”
     
    After she hit send, she still considered calling someone. Gia set her
phone and clutch aside. She clawed her way out of her corset and pulled her
dress over her head and cast it all onto the floor.
     
    Gia lifted her breasts and let the tepid air of the apartment dry out the
sweat. The skin around her stomach and sides was a map of red and purple
creases leading to some magical, alien land. She was sure her back looked the
same way. She needed someone to give her a rub down, but she was alone – she
assumed.
     
    Don would be too busy, but she bet Jack or one of the junk pic dudes
would gladly do it for her.
     
    Gia let her breasts drop from her hands and she walked over to her
vanity. She lifted her phone and shut off location in her settings. She
realized she was standing naked by her window, so she turned off her light.
     
    She used the glow of her phone to find her way to the bed. The dress gave
an odd shimmer in the darkness and shallow, blue blaze from her phone. She
could almost imagine a body sprawled on the floor of the bedroom in that dress.
     
    Gia laid down and knew she must be exhausted physically and emotionally
because her bed was not as comfortable as it felt in that moment.
     
    She woke up the next morning naked and staring at the ceiling. She
realized in the morning light that she had forgotten to check the closets. She
was still holding the phone in one hand and the pink hat in the other.
     
    Her memory tried to tell her that she hadn’t been holding the hat when
she fell asleep. Gia got up and held her aching head between the heels of her
hands. She had not drank enough the night before to feel like this. Her calves
were trying to cramp up on her and gave her an odd gate as she walked. She went
to take a shower because she smelled as bad as the neighborhood.
     
    Gia checked the phone and had no new messages from Don or Jack. She set
her phone aside and put on the hat. Gia turned on the shower waiting as she
wore nothing but her pink hat and falling curl ringlets. She took a cigarette
out of a nearly empty pack by the sink and held it between her lips seeing how
long she could go before she lit it.
     
     
    ***

Chapter 2:
     
    What Do You Have in Mind?
     
     
    Her heels were more sensible than they had been for the premier. She had
underwear on this time. It was a thong which was barely more than nothing, but
enough to make her wish she was wearing nothing. It matched her bra and silver
dress. She even had a silver purse for this outfit that could hold more than a
key and a phone. That all had to count for something.
     
    Don had put away his phone finally as they ate a corn and crab soup.
Seller’s Creed was a new restaurant that featured southern and Cajun dishes
served with an upscale twist. She had almost ordered the shrimp and grits, but
she assumed that it would be a disappointment. Now she was wishing she had gone
with the shrimp and grits. How often could a person get a grits dish in Los
Angeles?
     
    She dragged her soup spoon through the cream cutting a furrow through the
bottom of her bowl. The town across the bridge from her hometown was called
Mount Seller. She wondered if there might not be some connection. She