Beauty From Pain (Beauty 1)

“Please, don’t hurt her.”

It’s a strained moment and I’m not really sure how to respond. “I’m sorry?”

“I’m asking you to not hurt Laurelyn. She’s been through a lot. The last guy she dated did a real number on her.”

Her name is Laurelyn?

“She told me about the agreement you have and I’m fine with it. Have a great time together—but don’t make her fall in love with you. She’s been hurt enough.”

Fall in love? Who said anything about falling in love?

Paige might have told her friend some things about our agreement, but not everything. Addison doesn’t know that Laurelyn chose to keep her name a secret from me because she’s unknowingly busted her on it. Honestly, it stings a little to discover that.

“No worries. Laurelyn and I are on the same page.” I say her name, savoring how it sounds rolling off my tongue. Paige was all right, but Laurelyn fits her better because it’s different. I’ve never known anyone by that name.

She comes out of the bedroom with a large bag in hand. “All packed and ready to go.”

Our first stop after we leave the apartment is the drugstore. I get into the car after my shopping spree and pass her the bag of condoms. “How many did you buy?” She opens the bag to peek inside and smiles in my direction. “Did you buy their entire inventory?”

“Hey, I’m not getting stuck without some backup in case we have another blowout.”

She’s shaking her head at me. “Are you still worried about that?”

Hell yeah, I’m still worried. Why isn’t she? “Yes, and I will be until you start your period. If you don’t get it before I leave, I want you to call me as soon as you do.”

“Yes, sir.” I think she’s miffed.

I know I sound irrational. I don’t mean to, but a pregnancy under these circumstances would be disastrous. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to rub you the wrong way. I’d much rather rub you the right way.”

She smiles and I know I’m forgiven. “I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay.” I pull out of the parking lot but don’t have a clue where I’m going.

I’m nervous about bringing it up, but I do because I realize it’s important to me. “I want to call you Laurelyn.”

I stare ahead as I drive, but I still catch a glimpse of Laurelyn whirling her head in my direction. “I see Addison ratted me out. I didn’t tell her about the anonymous part of the agreement.”

“I’m glad she ratted you out because I want to call you by your real name. Laurelyn suits you better than Paige.”

“I don’t think you have the right to know my real name if I don’t know yours.” She’s angry. Or maybe defeated. I’m not really sure.

“There are very legitimate reasons for that.” She turns her head away from me. “You can’t be angry at me about this.” I reach for her hand and bring it to my leg. I give it a gentle squeeze. “I was honest with you about everything.”

She looks back at me. “Except why. You haven’t given me any kind of explanation. I’m sure I could accept not knowing if you’d only give me some kind of reason.”

“But, I won’t.” I’m stern when I say it because I have to be disciplined for myself. She makes me want to break down and tell her everything. It’s strange—I’ve never wanted to do that before. She makes me want to do lots of new things.

“It’s not fair, but I guess there’s no point in pretending to be Paige Beckett when you know I’m not, so I guess you’re getting what you want. Again.”

She’s not happy with me, but I still bring her hand to my lips and kiss it. “Thank you, Laurelyn.”

“Well, you’re not welcome and you can forget getting my real last name.”

She’s mad because she feels defeated. I don’t want her to feel that way. It makes me want to blurt out that she can call me Jack, but I don’t. Because I can’t.

Laurelyn. Laurelyn. Laurelyn. It’s a delicate, feminine name and I say it in my head over and over, wrapping my brain around it so it will flow off my tongue when I’m ready to say it again. It’s very easy to forget I ever called her Paige.

“Can I take you to lunch while we’re in town?”

“Sure. What about the fifties diner on the square? Ben says it’s great and I’ve been dying to try it.”

Ben. I hate the feeling I get when she says his name. I’m really going to hate taking her back to stay at his place again. It pisses me off that he thinks he has a chance with the woman I’ve claimed. Maybe he needs a warning so he’ll back off.

“I’ll take you anywhere you want to go.”

The diner is exactly what it sounds like and Laurelyn is all smiles when we enter. “Oh, it’s retro, just like a real fifties diner. Can we sit at the bar?”

“Anything you want.”

The decor is exactly as you would imagine—a black-and-white checkered floor down to red vinyl-covered barstools with lots of chrome. She reaches for a menu on the counter stuck behind a napkin holder and passes one to me. “I don’t know why I’m even looking. I already know what I want—a cheeseburger, fries, and a chocolate shake.”

A waitress wearing the classic dress and white apron approaches us. “Do you need a minute to look over the menu?”

I figure a burger is as good as anything else I’ll find on the menu. “No. We’ll have two cheeseburgers with fries and a couple of chocolate shakes.”

“Coming right up.”

Laurelyn replaces the menus and scans the surroundings. “I’ve always thought of the fifties diner theme as an American thing, but I guess it’s not.”

“No, I guess not.”

I hear an old song playing overhead and I decide to try to stump my little musician. “Okay, musical genius. What song is this?”

She doesn’t have to listen because she already knows. “‘In the Still of the Night’ by The Five Satins.”

It amazes me how she knows. Always. “How can you possibly have all that information in your head?”

“It’s a gift. Oh, wow. A jukebox!” She flies off her stool and stands over the jukebox viewing the song selections. She’s so into the music, I don’t think she realizes she’s keeping time to the music with the shake of her hips. Wow, I love her ass. Especially when she shakes it like that.