Authors: Mellie George
Smolder
Smolder: A Bad Blooded Rebel
Novel
By Mellie George
Text copyright ©2015 Mellie
George
All Rights Reserved
Cover Photo Courtesy of
ShutterStock.com
Cover Design ©2015 Mellie George
This book is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the
products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any
resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely
coincidental.
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 prior permission of
the author.
Support your favorite authors by
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The Author acknowledges
referencing the following people, places, music, bands, sports teams, movies,
and all that noise: Hollywood Undead, Buckcherry (song title credit Crazy
Bitch), Nine Inch Nails (song title credit Closer), Dodge Viper, iPod,
Riverbend Music Center, Superwoman, Styrofoam, The Golden Girls (characters
Blanche Devereaux, Sophia Petrillo), Mack Truck, Plaza Hotel (Royal Plaza
Suite), Cartier, Ball State University, New York Ballet Company, Puerto
Vallarta Mexican Restaurant, Netflix
To all true Rebels new and
familiar, young and old, far or near…keep sharing, loving, and rocking!
To the one who has inspired me
more than you’ll ever know and surprising me in the darkest of times; you’ll
never truly know how important you became and there’s a place in my heart where
you’ll always be. Thank you for being there when I needed someone the most.
1
Jude
“Sadie,
are you ready to head to the hospital yet?” I called out through the house,
hoping to light a fire under her. My roommate may have been the first one in
the city up every morning, but when it came to getting ready she took longer
than the average girl. That was one of the many fun disadvantages of living
with a chick.
“Jesus
Christ, Jude, keep your fucking pants on, I’m almost ready!” she called back to
me and I fought back a laugh. I pictured her expression as she made sure her already-straight
snowy blonde hair was super straight and perfect and smiled. I would never
understand her or, hell, women in general. We were only going to the hospital
to visit our friends who were in the maternity ward. The whole building was full
of sick people. Who the hell was she trying to impress?
“Five
minutes and I’m leaving without you!”
“You
leave me behind and I’ll rip your balls off!”
I
smiled wider and made sure we had all of the gifts that Sadie and I had bought
last night when Kris Engle, one of my best friends and the drummer for our rock
band Bad Blooded Rebel, called me from the hospital. His wife Jessie had gone
into labor with their first baby and their son, Kallum Jace Engle, was born
just after six in the morning. I wanted to head to the hospital last night
since I was still awake but Kris insisted that we all get some sleep and come
in the morning. After how long it took to finally realize their dream of having
a child I imagined that they wanted to have a few hours alone to bond with
their newborn son.
I
was happy for them but at the same time I knew I was going to feel a little bit
out of place being there among my band mates, all of whom were now were married
and had children of their own. Ryder Matthews, the lead singer of our band, had
been married to his wife Everleigh for over two years and their son Max would
turn one on Halloween. Our lead guitarist, Beau Cavanaugh (who was also Sadie’s
older brother) was married to Everleigh’s best friend Danni and their daughter
Harlowe was seven months old. Now, Kris and Jessie were finally parents. I was
the last single guy in the group which wouldn’t have been such a bad thing if I
hadn’t given up sex cold turkey when Sadie moved in two years ago.
I’d
always thought of Sadie Cavanaugh as nothing more than Beau’s foul mouthed yet insanely
talented little sister. However, when she flew to New York a year and a half
ago when Everleigh’s psycho ex-boyfriend threatened everyone, I’d gotten to
know her as an adult and we had instantly clicked as friends. Sadie was hell on
wheels and if there was ever a girl I’d known that I could just have a beer
with and shoot the shit without worrying she’d get all clingy it was her.
We’d
quickly become good friends and started hanging out all the time. Since the
guys were splitting off into their own families we were the odd ones out so
naturally we tended to stick together when we all got together as a group. When
I suggested we become roommates to avoid her having to find her own place the
night of Ryder and Everleigh’s wedding in Vegas, she accepted (actually, she
answered with a loud “hell yeah!”) and we’ve lived together ever since.
No
one asked me to give up sex when she moved in but I had never lived with a girl
before her. It just felt wrong to me to keep having my conquests coming to the
house and her having to watch them (and probably laugh hysterically) take the
walk of shame the next morning. Sadie wasn’t my girlfriend and I’m sure she
didn’t care if I did have girls coming to the house but it just seemed like the
right thing to do.
Women
were my addiction and giving up sex was the hardest thing I have ever done in
my life, hands down. I took it day by day and even though I’d made it two years
without so much as a kiss, a blow job,
nothing
, my hand was getting
pretty fucking tired. I’d been thinking more and more about getting back out
there and picking up where I left off but the thought of disappointing Sadie
always stopped me. I couldn’t figure out why but it always did.
I
had just picked up all of the bags full of baby gifts when Sadie came down the
hall, her perfect snowy blonde hair with purple and pink highlights perfectly
straight and coifed. She was wearing a hot pink tank top, jean cut off shorts,
and flip flops and was actually looking pretty cute.
“It’s
about time, brat,” I said to her.
“Fuck
off, I told you I was almost ready,” she answered taking one of the gift bags
from me and putting her cell phone in her back pocket. “Okay, let’s do this.”
She
quickly walked out the front door and I locked up behind her. “You want to just
come with me in my car? It’ll save gas,” I suggested.
“Sounds
good to me,” Sadie answered. “You’ve got the killer sound system.”
“Damn
right I do,” I said, hitting the key on my keychain to unlock the doors to my
black Dodge Viper. We both got in and as soon as the doors closed I started the
engine and backed out of the driveway before heading toward the hospital.
We
had barely made it down the block before Sadie was scrolling through my iPod
looking for music. When she started my playlist, Hollywood Undead started
blaring over the speakers and she smiled and rolled her eyes.
“What
is it?” I asked.
“Look
man, I like Hollywood Undead as much as the next person, but do you have
anything other than them on your playlist?”
“Of
course I do, just scroll through and find something you like.”
“Never
mind, I’ll just punch in something here,” she said, typing something into my
phone. When “Crazy Bitch” by Buckcherry started playing I laughed out loud.
“Ha,
excellent song choice,” I said, turning onto the highway.
“I
have to start my day with my theme song,” she said and started singing along.
“Besides it was either this or ‘Closer’. I decided to go with the one that
didn’t want to make me find the nearest stripper pole. I’m on my way to meet my
new nephew and I don’t want to show up horny as hell.” I laughed at her brand
of logic.
“’Closer’
makes you horny?” I laughed.
“Hey,
we all have that one song. Don’t judge me,” she replied, bobbing her head along
to the beat of the song.
I
listened to her singing along and drummed my fingers on the steering wheel
along to the beat as we made our way to visit the newest Rebel in our family. I
would seriously have to think about hitting up a club and putting myself back
out there on the market if the sound of Sadie singing about how a chick “fucks
so good” was giving me a semi.
As
soon as we pulled into the hospital parking lot, I parked my Viper and we
quickly got out and made our way through the seemingly endless elevators and
hallways to the maternity floor.
“Hey
when we’re done visiting Kris and Jessie you want to go grab some food?” Sadie
asked me as she scrolled through her phone while we walked. “I’ve got a shit
ton of work to do the rest of the day and I want to get food on my stomach
before I head into the studio.”
I
shrugged and said, “Sounds good. So, the Eternal Down album is going good,
huh?” I asked.
Sadie
had produced our last Bad Blooded Rebel album and after the world got to see
how talented she was she’d been contacted by no less than fifteen famous rock
bands to produce their albums. For her first non-Bad Blooded Rebel album she
didn’t hesitate to work with Eternal Down since we had all been such good
friends with them for a long time. Their lead singer Jagger Riggins had
requested her personally to produce the album. I was happy to see her in such
high demand, but something about Jagger requesting her irritated me.
When
Danni and Beau got married last year, he’d mentioned how hot he thought Sadie
was at Beau’s bachelor party and that he was thinking of asking her out. Both
Beau and I were quick to shut him down, telling him to stay away from her, and
he did ever since then. However, whenever Jagger’s name was brought up and it
had anything to do with Sadie, my hackles would rise and my protective mode
went into full force. Sadie was one of my best friends and I would always look
out for her no matter what or who I’d have to knock out of the way.
It
had been tricky for her to produce from Cincinnati while the band was in their
home state of New York but somehow she made it work. There was no denying the
girl had an incredible talent and we were all really proud of how far she’d
come at only twenty three years old.
“Yeah,
it’s going great. I really think this is going to be their biggest album yet.”
“Well
with you at the controls it’ll be fucking
sick
,” I said, playfully
ruffling her hair in the way she hated.
“Damn
it Jude,” she grumbled, “I swear to God if I didn’t think life would suck if
you were dead I’d fucking kill you for messing with my hair.”
“Oh
God, relax, princess, it’s just hair. Look at me, I have a fucking Mohawk and a
tattoo of a devil on the side of my head. Do you think I give a shit what
people think about how I look?”
“I
know you don’t give a shit,” she snapped, but covered her frosty tone with a
smile. “Probably one of the reasons we get along so well.”
We
reached the door to Jessie’s room and Sadie nudged me and winked as she knocked
and we both went inside. As soon as we were inside my eyes landed on Kris and
Jessie looking happier than I’d ever seen them as they cradled their newborn
son.
“Hey
pretty girl,” I said, walking to her and dropping a kiss on her forehead. “How
are you feeling?”
“Wonderful,”
she answered sleepily. Even though she looked completely exhausted, there was
no hiding how happy she was. Jessie had struggled to get pregnant for years
after a devastating miscarriage caused by her monster of a mother had claimed
the life of Kris and Jessie’s first baby back when Bad Blooded Rebel was
starting to get famous.
I
gazed down at their baby boy and smiled at him. “He’s perfect, Jess,” I
answered, looking at his head full of light brown hair; just like Jessie’s. I
leaned my hand down to gently touch his tiny face and was amazed at how soft
his skin was. After dropping a kiss to Kallum’s head and embracing Jessie one
last time, I walked over to Kris and pulled him into a hug. “Congratulations.”
“Thank
you Jude,” he said, his voice thick with many different emotions. “I can’t
believe he’s here. I have a son, how incredible is that?”
“There
are no words, bro,” I answered.
“I’m
so happy for you guys,” Sadie answered and leaned down and kissed the baby.
“Have the rest of the family stopped by yet?”
“No,
not yet but they should be here soon,” Jessie answered. “Would you like to hold
him, Sadie?”
“Really?”
Sadie asked, smiling brightly. “Are you sure?”
“Of
course I am,” she replied. “You’re family, I trust you.” Sadie was beaming as
she ran across the room and quickly covered her hands in sanitizer before
coming back to Jessie’s bedside with her arms open. She lifted Kallum up and
gently placed him into Sadie’s waiting arms.
Sadie’s
face instantly softened and I could see how quickly she fell in love with
Kallum. I grinned at her; it was a well known fact that Sadie loved children
and made it clear that she wanted a huge family someday. She might look like a
bitchy rocker chick on the outside, but I knew that she was going to be a great
mother one day.
“Oh
my God you guys,” Sadie said. “He’s amazing.” She gently stroked his hair with
her thumb and leaned her head down to kiss his tiny forehead again.
“He
really is,” Kris said, walking to her and wrapping his arm around her.
I
moved back to Jessie and asked, “So, how was your first night as a mama, pretty
girl?”
“Like
a dream come true. I know that sounds so corny but there’s no other way to
describe it. I’m exhausted and sore but it’s the best feeling in the world,”
she replied and I saw a tear fall down her cheek.
“Jess,
what’s wrong?” I asked, wiping her tear away.
She
shook her head and smiled. “Oh nothing. The doctor said that I’d probably be a
little emotional the first few days.”
“Well,
that’s understandable. You went through hell and back to have this moment,”
Sadie said, rocking Kallum in her arms. “So, did your labor go okay?”
“Yeah,
it was perfect,” she answered but Kris snorted out a nervous laugh.
“Perfect
my ass,” he said. “Jess was so damn stubborn and was determined to have Kallum
completely naturally. It was killing me to see her in pain but she refused any
drug they offered her.”
“And
I’d do it again,” she said stubbornly. “Having Kallum was an experience I never
thought I’d ever have and I wasn’t missing out on a single moment, including
all the pain. He was worth it.” She winked at Kris and flashed the smiled that
never failed to make him go all stupid as Sadie carefully handed Kallum back to
her.