The Cocktail Club Read Online Free PDF Page A

our eyes and feet under the table. I was glad to be with him, and wanted to get to the best part. We kept the conversation light and flirty, which meant we’d avoid an argument or disagreement.
    Dinner was fast and great, but nearly thirty minutes later, dessert promised to be even better.
    My head still swirled a little from the strong drinks I’d had back at the restaurant, and each time I licked Gordon’s perfect, chocolate nipples, I swore they tasted like hints of the hurricane and margarita mixture I’d sucked down earlier.
    His body was magnificent. As I spread my legs to allow him entry, I clutched on to his ripped biceps, and relished in the sheer bliss that he’d deliver.
    Gordon lowered his head, and planted a wet, sloppy kiss over my mouth as he entered me.

5
DARBY
    I hated when Kevin pulled this kind of mess. It wasn’t enough that I had to break him out of adding water to milk and juices to make them stretch, but his obsession with hoarding money was too much. I sat at the ATM machine, fuming.
    How could there not be enough money for me to withdraw forty damn dollars? It didn’t help that I had just ended a screaming match with my brother, Roger, who insisted that I had betrayed my family, and therefore, I needed to make myself available for the unannounced visit that my mother and aunt were trying to execute. There was no doubt that I was in a hot, funky mood.
    Their antics reminded me of when we were little. Roger, the youngest, was always in the middle of any brewing mess. Darlene and I were the epitome of twins. We finished each other’s sentences, dressed alike, and even felt each other’s emotions. We were closer than anyone could imagine. When she was killed, my life changed forever. Since her death, nearly eighteen years ago, our entire family had fallen apart. I was no longer close with my mom, my aunt, or Roger, who used to lovingly call me “Sissy.”
    â€¢Â Â â€¢Â Â â€¢
    Most of us had moved on, but my mother didn’t want to let go of Darlene. Out of all of us, I was messed up the most over Darlene’sdeath. I still missed her like she had died a few seconds ago, but my sister would’ve wanted us all to live; not mourn her the way my mom had.
    While I’d made an effort to move on with my life, I vowed that I would do whatever it took to avenge her death. I became obsessed with getting next to the man who had killed her. Chandler would feel my pain, even if I died making sure he did. I would get next to him, gain his trust, and set him up. I had it all planned. I was going to plant two kilos of cocaine in his house, and then call the police. His fancy lawyer would not be able to get him out of that one.
    Roger told me that he felt trapped in the middle of a major family feud. If he would stop trying to force reconciliation, he wouldn’t feel that way. As I told him, if he was going to turn my entire family against me, maybe we weren’t as close as I thought we were in the first place.
    When a horn honked behind me, I realized that I was blocking the ATM. After I exhaled, I dipped my card back into the machine, and pressed the option to read the balance. When I saw the numbers that appeared across the screen, I wanted to strangle my penny-pinching husband. There was $39.89 in the account.
    Suddenly, that fool’s words ran through my mind as if he’d spoken them seconds ago. “Hey, I put some money in the account.”
    â€œFor Christ’s sake! What in the hell is wrong with him?”
    Instead of taking my frustration out on the machine, I whipped my car out of the bank’s parking lot, and headed to the Walgreens across the street. I stormed inside, bought a pack of gum for thirty-five cents, and then requested thirty-nine dollars back in cash.
    â€œYou want thirty-nine dollars?” the pimple-faced cashier asked.
    â€œYes!” I snapped.
    â€œOh, okay. Just checking to make sure it was the