Never Again Read online

  Never

  Again

  J. Lea

  J. Lea

  Never Again (Book 1 in Again series)

  Translator: Tanja Kunej

  Editor: TCB Editing Services

  Cover: Wonderland Graphic Design © Sarah Shuttle, Wonderland Graphic Design

  Copyright @2014 J. Lea

  CIP - Kataložni zapis o publikaciji

  Narodna in univerzitetna knjižnica, Ljubljana

  821.163.6-32(0.034.2)

  J. Lea

  Never again [Elektronski vir] / J. Lea. - El. knjiga. - Ljubljana : author, 2014. - (Again series ; book 1)

  ISBN 978-961-93705-2-0 (mobi)

  276959744

  Never Again is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to events, locations, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental, except the countries where circuits are located, these are all real!

  Copyright @2014 J. Lea

  All rights reserved. Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the copyright owner.

  The following story contains mature themes, strong language, and sexual situations. It is intended for adult readers only!

  Part One

  Chapter One

  Ella

  “Honey, could you bring me the vacuum cleaner?” I yell from the living room while kneeling on the floor, picking up the shards of a small glass bowl I accidentally dropped.

  “Here you go,” Josh brings the vacuum cleaner to me and caresses my back. He kneels down to me, and takes my hand in his. He takes a closer look at my finger that just started bleeding.

  “You cut your finger. Go get a Band-Aid, and I’ll finish up here.” He kisses my forehead, and gently smacks my butt as I get up.

  “Watch it, mister.” Raising an eyebrow, I give him a naughty look. “I’m injured here.” I stick my injured finger in his face.

  “But your butt doesn’t seem injured. Well, at least not yet,” he winks, licking his lips.

  “Perv,” I smile at him. “Keep on dreaming!”

  “I had to try,” he shrugs, wiggles his eyebrows, and starts vacuuming. I run to the bathroom to inspect the damage. I open the bathroom door, careful not to drip any blood on the floor, and run my finger under the cold water. It stings a little, as the first spray of the icy water hits the wound, but I relax when my finger starts to numb. I take a Band-Aid from the cabinet, put it on the sink, and carefully dry my injured hand. A wide grin splits my face as I take in my surroundings. It’s still hard to believe we’re in our own home. Our home. We can do whatever we want, and nobody can say anything against it. My eyes travel across the grey tiles to the glass shower doors we christened yesterday evening. A faint print of my hand is still visible on the glass surface, and a swarm of butterflies in my belly starts fluttering at the memory of yesterday’s lovemaking.

  “It’s almost too perfect,” I murmur to myself, as I wrap the Band-Aid around my finger. I take a quick glance at myself in the mirror. My naughty thoughts caused my cheeks to flush. I toss my long brown hair over my right shoulder, and make a side ponytail. I don’t hear the vacuum cleaner anymore, so I join Josh in the living room.

  Josh is everything and more I could ask for in a guy. The first thing I noticed about him were his full lips. They’re gorgeous. His hair is short, almost black, and his eyes are blue as an ocean. I could get lost in them.

  “Thank you, you’re a sweetheart,” I hug him, planting a wet kiss on his mouth. In exchange he gently squeezes my butt.

  “I couldn’t just leave you to bleed out in the middle of the living room. Our rug would be totally ruined.”

  I poke him in the ribs with my elbow, wrap my arms around his neck, and kiss him passionately. Josh lifts me in his arms, and carries me to the creamy white leather sofa in the middle of our spacious living room. He gently lays me on the couch, and presses his lips against mine. Just as he is trying to get me out of my shirt, his phone rings.

  “Damn it,” he swears, and runs his hand through his hair in frustration. “Next time, we’re turning our cellphones off.” He winks at me, and rearranges the bulge that is proudly standing against his pants. “It’s my mom,” he says before answering, and I sit up. I take another look around. I just can’t wrap my head around the fact that Josh and I finally live together. On my right, there’s a giant bookshelf. We are both avid readers, so buying a bookshelf was one of the first things we did. The furniture we chose for the living room is made of rustic solid oak. We put the coffee table by the L-shaped sofa, and a big LCD television sits on a low stand by the far wall. A rug that is the same color as the sofa covers the floor of the living room. I’m awakened from my deep thoughts by Josh’s tender kiss on my mouth.

  “Where were we?” he asks, a satisfied grin on his face as he starts showering my neck with kisses. “My parents invited themselves to dinner Saturday night,” he adds.

  “Uh-huh,” I mutter distractedly, and close my eyes. Josh grabs the hem of my shirt and pulls it over my head with ease. I’m not wearing a bra under the shirt. I like to be comfortable at home.

  “Damn it, you’re gorgeous. I love every part of your body.” He begins to trail a path of kisses from my neck, paying extra attention to my breasts. Then he continues down to my belly until he reaches the waistband of my pants. “Lift,” he orders, his voice strained with lust and desire, and swiftly undoes the button. Just as he is about to pull them down my legs, the phone rings again, this time mine.

  “Ugh,” we both protest loudly, and for a second, I think about not answering.

  “Who is it now?” I sigh and check my cellphone. “Hi, Sophie,” I greet my best friend, still breathing deeply.

  Sophie and I met at the university. We were roommates for three years. During that time, we created a really special bond. The last year of university we didn’t live together as she moved in with her current boyfriend, Matt, but we have remained very close nevertheless. She’s like a sister I never had.

  “Hey, Ella. Hope I’m not bothering you,” she says mischievously. “Now that you guys are all settled in, it’s time for me and Matt to invite ourselves over for coffee. Is one hour from now okay?”

  I glance at Josh, who is standing by the couch in all of his glory, watching me. I bite my lower lip and nod, remembering a second later she can’t see me.

  “Umm... yeah, sure,” I respond.

  “Great, can’t wait to see you!” she says, before I hang up and go back to Josh.

  “We have exactly one hour,” I whisper to him, and we continue where we left off.

  We take a quick shower, get dressed, and then I hurry to the kitchen to make coffee. In ten minutes, Sophie and Matt will be here. Thank God they’re almost never on time, so I can regain my senses after everything Josh did to me earlier. I shake my head, laughing out loud.

  “What is it, honey?” Josh asks as he puts his long arms around my hips, and kisses the back of my neck.

  “Mmm…” I close my eyes, completely intoxicated by the smell of his aftershave. “I was just thinking about what would happen if Sophie and Matt got here early.”

  “They’d have to wait. Pleasuring my woman is simply the priority here.” He winks at me, and turns to the cupboard. He takes out four coffee cups, and puts them on the counter.

  “Have I told you lately how much I love you?”

  “Yes, but it doesn’t hurt to say it again.” His response brings a wide grin to my face. The doorbell rings. “I’ll go,” Josh says, as I pour the coffee and bring the cups into the kitchen.

&nbs
p; “Wow, it finally looks like it’s a real home,” Sophie says excitedly, as she checks out the kitchen. Sophie is a fiery redhead with short hair that’s always delightfully messy, and makes her very attractive and interesting.

  Sophie and Matt helped us move all the things we own. At the time, we just put down the boxes with our belongings wherever there was space, and it looked like a bomb went off in the house. Now that everything is in its place, it looks great.

  “The kitchen is awesome. I like how bright it is, even though the counters and appliances are such a dark color.” As the tour of the apartment ends, we sit down at the table so we can drink coffee and chat.

  “So, how’s your bike turning out?” Josh starts. I roll my eyes; I swear lately motorcycles are the only things on his mind.

  “Great, actually. Now that it’s getting warmer outside, we spend almost every day on that bike, riding around. It’s so addictive,” Matt says with a spark in his eyes.

  Winter is finally over, and now that it’s April, nature is waking up and everything smells like spring.

  “Lucky bastards, I’m so jealous of you two. I’ve been dreaming about buying one for myself, but my Ella here is totally against motorcycles.” He leans back in his chair, and puts his hand around my shoulders. “I logged thousands of miles on my Honda back in the day. I was really sad when I had to sell her.”

  “Hey there, if you hadn’t sold it you wouldn’t have met me,” pretending to be offended, I gently poke him in the ribs with my elbow.

  Josh and I met at a car fair. I was selling my old Mazda and he his motorcycle. We spent almost the whole day there, standing right next to each other, chatting occasionally when nobody was around. At the end of the day, we both sold our vehicles and then he asked me out. The rest is history.

  “I know, and that was the best day of my life,” he smiles at me.

  “That’s better.” I give him a tender kiss.

  “You can join me sometime, and the girls can go grab coffee while we ride. I’m sure they won’t mind,” Matt suggests.

  Josh gives me a questioning look since I’m not a big fan of motorcycles, but he’s obsessed with bikes and motorcycling, so I nod.

  “Okay, okay, we’ll find something to do. We could go shopping, I haven’t bought myself anything in ages.”

  ~ * ~

  A week later, Josh and I lay on the couch, wrapped in each other’s arms. We are watching TV, a motoGP race, to be precise. Well, Josh is watching the race, I’m just reading a book on my e-reader. The trip Josh and Matt went on resulted in Josh becoming even more obsessed with the notion about buying a motorcycle.

  “Wow, this Jake guy is really something. His first race in this class, and he already kicked their asses.”

  “Uh-huh,” I reply, uninterested, and continue reading. Josh turns off the TV, and turns toward me, looking me in the eyes.

  “Ella, why are you so against me buying a bike? Do you know how fun it would be riding around the country together? There are so many beautiful places I’d like to show you. We’d have a great time.”

  I let out a loud sigh and put down my e-reader. “I don’t know... Bikes are very dangerous.”

  “Come on, you know how careful I always am,” he defends himself.

  “That’s not the issue.” Tired of bickering about the motorcycle, I get up, and take a few steps when his voice stops me.

  “So what is the issue then? Come on, we have enough money to buy a reliable, used one. I don’t want anything expensive and luxurious.”

  “I know that you’re always careful, but it’s the other drivers I don’t trust. You see the maniacs that drive on the road!”

  Josh comes closer and pulls me in for a hug. “Nothing is going to happen to me and nothing is going to happen to us. You’ll see how much fun it can be.”

  “I don’t want to talk about this anymore. I’m going to bed. We’ll continue this conversation some other time.”

  Josh runs his fingers through his hair in frustration. “That’s what you always say,” he exclaims angrily. I close the bedroom door and throw myself on the bed. I’m still wearing the sweats I pulled on this morning. I hug the pillow, and close my eyes for a few moments.

  ~ * ~

  “I’m so glad you finally changed your mind,” Josh cannot hide his excitement as we enter the motorcycle shop. Since March, he has been nagging me about wanting to buy a bike every day, but I’ve been adamant about it. After two months of talking about bikes non-stop, he finally wore me down and I said yes. However, I told him I’ll never get on that thing, so if he wants company, he can ask Matt to join him.

  “Good morning,” a big, tattooed salesman greets us. “Can I help you?”

  Josh quickly explains what kind of motorcycle he is looking for. They head off to the other side of the store. I walk around the room, checking out some other bikes. Josh kept going on about some Kawasaki bike, but that’s all I remember. I don’t know much about motorcycles.

  “Honey, come here,” I hear Josh calling me. I approach him standing by a big black motorcycle. “This is Kawasaki ER-6f, the one I’ve been telling you about. Do you like it?” I stare at the bike with open mouth, and even I have to admit, it is beautiful. I nod, and he continues. “We’d have to wait a week to get the one I want, in the green and black combo. Is that okay with you?”

  I shrug. I don’t really care. If he wants a green one, he should have a green one. The only thing I insisted on when I agreed that he could buy a motorcycle, was that it had to be a brand new one, not used. I want to know that it is as safe as it can be. Josh goes over the details with the salesman, and leaves the store with a wide grin on his face.

  “You won’t be sorry you changed your mind. I love you so much.”

  It’s fall already. Leaves on the trees are slowly changing color, the sun does not shine as brightly anymore, and Josh is still completely in love with his bike. Since May, not a day has passed that he wasn’t on his bike. I slowly got used to the thought of him riding around, and surprisingly, I’m not freaking out as much as I did when he first started going off on the bike. One time, he even managed to convince me to go with him. Only once around the block, but it was enough to see why he likes it so much.

  “Hey, honey,” Josh sneaks up on me from behind just as I’m preparing a sandwich for later, and kisses me on the spot behind my ear that he knows I love. “I’m going on a ride with Matt, you wanna come with?”

  I shake my head. “You know I can’t. I have my massage exams today. You know that.”

  “Oh, yeah, right. You’ll do great! You’re already a pro at this. If you’re half as good in your practical exam as you were yesterday, massaging me, you’ll pass with flying colors.” He winks at me.

  I’ve decided to get my massage license because I want to open my own massage therapy salon, and my Business Administration degree will be very helpful with handling a business. That’s why I practiced massaging like crazy for the last month and Josh generously offered his body to practice on. I’ve been getting better and better at this, and can’t wait to finally be able to do it professionally. Unfortunately, my own salon will have to wait for a while as I have to gain more experience first. However, I will send applications to various massage and beauty salons, I’m certain it will not take long for me to find a job.

  “I know, but I’m still nervous. I hope I don’t mess anything up.”

  “Don’t worry. You’ll do great. When I get back, we’ll celebrate, okay?”

  I nod, give him a kiss, and we say goodbye. I wish I were half as confident as he is. I quickly pack my sandwich, grab my books, and drive off. September sun is just warm enough that I can still wear a sleeveless shirt and drive with a window down. I park in front of the building where we had our classes and massage practices. A few people I attended classes with are already here, and they are as nervous as I am to begin the exams. I quickly go over some things that I’m unsure about, and then we go in the classroom, where the written part of
the examination takes place. Then, we proceed to the next room where everything is prepared for the practical part. One by one, we are called in. Finally, I hear my name. Legs shaking, I enter the room. The board of examiners gives me a lukewarm greeting and asks me a few questions, and then I proceed with my massage. When I’m finished, they send me out and call in the next person. After two excruciatingly long hours of waiting, we finally get the results. When I see I have gotten 100% on both the written and the practical part of examination, I squeal with excitement and skip to my car with a big smile on my face. Fishing my phone out of my purse, I call Josh, but he doesn’t answer. Huh. He’s probably taking a shower. I’m sure they’ve been riding down some macadam road with Matt again, I think to myself. During my drive home, I share the happy news with my parents and Sophie, and we all decide to celebrate together this weekend. When I park the car in front of our house, I notice Josh’s bike is not here yet.

  “Where is he?” I mumble to myself. As I get inside the house, I put my keys on the kitchen counter and call Sophie again.

  “Hey, Nerdy McGeek,” she answers the phone, and I cannot help but laugh out loud.

  “I’m calling because Josh still hasn’t come home. I was wondering if Matt’s there yet.”

  “Nope, but you know them, they probably went to grab a beer or something, and they won’t be home until late.”

  I let out a breath of relief. “Okay, I’m calmer already. You know me, I always think the worst case scenario when it comes to motorcycles.”

  “Don’t worry, everything’s okay with them. You want some pizza? I’m hungry and I don’t want to eat alone.”

  “You buyin’?”