Dirty Bad Boys Box Set: Forbidden Romance Collection

“C’mon.” I brushed it off. “I would never do that to you, Mom. I promise.”

Here I am, at twenty-eight years old, staring into a camera and holding up a board with my name on it. My mom is going to have a coronary. Her only son, her flesh and blood, sitting in a jail cell arrested for indecent exposure. It wasn’t like we were doing anything harmful, but according to the cops we had broken the law.

An elderly couple on their nightly walk saw us and were disturbed by our behavior, quickly calling the police and reporting us.

Sitting in this cold, bleak cell while police fill in paperwork only makes the whole scenario even more depressing. Kate doesn’t see the big deal, trying to flirt with one of the younger cops to help get us out of here. It fails and she curses in her British slang—something about him being a wanker with a small John Thomas. I have no idea what that means, nor do I care to right now.

“My mom’s going to kill me,” I blurt out, resting my head in my hands to block out my surroundings.

“Your mom?” Kate laughs. “I didn’t peg you for a momma’s boy. Blimey, just when you were starting to earn cool points.”

“That term is so overrated.”

“Says the momma’s boy,” she points out. “I’m more worried about Charlie.”

I run my hands through my hair, frustrated at the whole situation. “You didn’t have to call her,” I say, annoyed.

“Who else is going to post bail? Your mom?”

“Wait. Is that a mom joke?”

Kate moves across the bench and sits beside me. Poking her finger in my arm, just to annoy me, she says, “C’mon, this is kinda fun, right?”

The alcohol is still swirling around that crazy brain of hers. She’s supposed to be sad. Suffering from a broken heart. Kate, from what I’ve experienced, is nothing like I thought she’d be. That, or she’s good at disguising her emotions with strange British humor.

“I’m all for a good time, but this isn’t what I had in mind. Fuck! Do you realize how much trouble we’re in? I came to LA to get a fresh start,” I remind her. “Not get busted for nudity and sent to damn jail.”

She remains quiet, keeping to herself. Maybe I was a little harsh. Kate has bigger worries, and still must be processing that whole ‘not being pregnant’ thing. Maybe she’s not void of emotions after all. I definitely have enough emotions whirling inside of me for the both of us. Anger, disappointment, and frustration to name a few.

But even with my emotions running high, I can’t ignore the silence coming from the person next to me.

“You okay?” I ask, tilting my head to the side to check up on her.

Playing with the hemline of her skirt, she answers distractedly, “Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?”

I grab her hand, not to be romantic, but with genuine concern. “The whole pregnancy thing, Kate.”

“Oh that,” she plays it off. “Totally forgot about it.”

Placing my arm over her shoulder, I pull her closer. I don’t know why I feel the urge to protect her. Maybe because she’s Charlie’s best friend. I just want to be her friend, because suddenly, tough Kate has disappeared. Funnily enough, I’ve never had friendships with women. There’s always an agenda behind it. What makes this even more confusing is that I’ve only known her for less than twenty-four hours. Yet, something about her makes me feel like I’ve known her my whole life.

“You don’t have to be okay,” I tell her. “I don’t know your story, but if you need an ear, I’m right here. Literally. They won’t let us out for hours.”

She buries the side of her head into my shoulder, absently staring at the brick wall. “I haven’t told Charlie the whole story. So please, don’t say anything,” she begs softly.

“I promise, I won’t.”

“Only Lex knows.”

“Lex?”

“He was the one who warned me about the whole situation.”

It makes sense. Charlie’s the type of person to get all up in your business. She’s passionate and fights for her friends and family. She’s always been that way. So, I’m not surprised at all that Kate had only told her half the story.

“The guy. He’s one of my best friends’ brothers. We kinda met accidentally and I was instantly attracted to him. Not sure why.”

“Wait, does your best friend know?”