Title: Striving for
Acceptance
Series: Striving #3
Author: B.L. Mooney
Release Date: December
26, 2014
Synopsis
Third in the Striving Series, but can be
read alone.
We all want to feel accepted, but
sometimes we do
unacceptable things. When we push it too
far and do the unforgivable, are we
still allowed to hope for that
acceptance?
Or are we doomed to accept a life of
loneliness?
My current bed friend is someone who’s
struggling to find
his own acceptance. His big crime? He’s
following his dreams. His father can’t
accept the fact he no longer wants to follow
in his footsteps. Should he be
shut out because he quit the family
business? I don’t think so. But if he
should, I’ve got bigger
problems.
My crime?
I cheated on my husband and then killed
the man I cheated
with. Would you still accept
me?
Ages
18+ due to adult situations and
violence.
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Excerpt
“Could you
hand me another clay pot,
please?” I was crouched down, getting the
displays ready for opening day. Never
mind it was still three weeks away. I
needed to keep busy.
The pot
appeared before me and I grabbed
it.
“Thanks.”
“You’re
welcome.”
I turned my
head to the male voice and was
inches from a bulge I’d gotten used to
having in my face. I hadn’t seen what
the bulge was made of yet, but he sure
liked thrusting it in my face every
chance he
could.
I snipped
the shears I had in my hand.
“You’re very brave to come that close.” He
backed up. “That’s what I
thought.”
I stood and
looked at him. His curly blond
hair needed a cut, as usual, and the
smirk on his face needed to be smacked
off. I tilted my head to the side and
wondered what he would look like without
the scruff he tried to pass off as a
beard. Why
should I care what he would look like?
I shook my head.
“What do you
need, Mick? I’m busy.”
“I just
thought I’d see if you needed
help.”
“As I’ve
told you the other fifty times
you’ve come over, no. I’ve got everything
under control.”
He rocked
back on his heels and looked
around. “It does look
good.”
“Thank
you.”
My sister,
Rachael, came from the back and
smiled. We were complete opposites. She
had long, wavy blonde hair while my
hair was black and cut short. You might
have been able to tell we were from the
same gene pool if I showed my body off
the way she did, but I liked to keep
things a little more under wraps compared
to her curve-hugging style. Besides,
I’d always been the more casual type and
she was all about the latest styles.
It looked good on her, but I’ve got
better things to worry about than
clothes.
The other
thing which set us apart was the
fact she was friendly. I wasn’t. “Hey,
Mick, what brings you over?”
“Just being
neighborly.”
I rolled my
eyes and turned to work on
another display. “We’ve got it. Thanks
for stopping by.”
Rachael
waited until he left. “You’re not
very nice to
him.”
“He isn’t
someone I want to be nice to.”
“I think you
could be very nice to each
other.” She smiled. “I’ve tried to get
Carl to grow some scruff like that. It’s
sexy. The least you could do is play nice
with him and tell me if it—”
“Look, he’s
the lease-holder. I don’t need
to be caught up in that. Plus, he’s a
little rude, always pushing his cock in
my
face.”
Her hands
fell to her sides. “Excuse
me?”
“Yes, it’s
always there.”
She smiled.
“Maybe you’re just always
looking.”
“Don’t you
have to pick up Amy?”
“Shit.” She
looked at her watch. “I really
do, but this conversation isn’t
over.”
I mumbled,
“It is for me.”
~*~
I had just
finished wiping down the counter
even though I’d already cleaned it a
dozen times. I wasn’t ready to go home. I
wanted to make sure it was perfect for
opening day.
There was a
small tap on the door. “Let me
in already!” Mick
yelled.
I rolled my
eyes and walked over to the
door. “It’s unlocked. Just open—” I
opened it to see him balancing two plates
and two glasses of wine. He walked past
without an invitation. “What are you
doing?”
“Come over
and help me.”
Curiosity
got the better of me. I walked
over and watched as he turned his ass to
me. “Take out the tablecloth, will
you? It’s a little big, but if you keep
it folded in half, it should fit the
counter.”
I took the
tablecloth from his back pocket
and laid it out as he said to. “What are
you doing?”
“Dinner.” He
set the plates and glasses
down. “You never leave for dinner or have
anything ordered in.” He looked me
over. “You’re too
thin.”
I placed my
hands on my hips. “Excuse
me?”
“You need to
keep your strength up if
you’re going to run a company by
yourself. You need to take care of yourself or
you have no business taking care of
anything else.”
He handed me
a napkin with a fork and knife
and pointed to the plate. I watched him
grab a couple of stools for us. “Eat.”
He sat on his stool and dug in. “Are you
going to tell me you don’t like
steak?”
I shook my
head. I sat down and looked at
the steak, baked potato, and green beans.
“I’m just trying to figure out what
your motive
is.”
“Money.”
I looked up.
“You want me to pay you for
this.”
“No, I want
you to pay for your lease, and
you can’t do that if you run yourself
down.” He took another bite and pointed
at my plate.
“Eat.”
I could live
with that answer. It was
honest and impersonal, so I liked it. I
started eating. “This is really
good.”
“Thanks.”
“How did you
keep it warm?”
“I don’t
live far.”
“Oh.”
We sat in
silence and finished our meal. It
wasn’t uncomfortable. The sounds of the
utensils against the plates filled the
air and before I knew it, I had cleaned
the plate.
“See, you
feel better now, don’t you?”
I allowed a
small smile. “I do. Thank you.”
He nodded
and looked around. “It’s
remarkable how good this place looks.
You’ve done a great job.”
“Thanks.
Thank you for dinner, too.”
He turned
back to me and smiled. “You’re
welcome.”
A police car
with lights and sirens went by
and I started shaking. He noticed. “I’m
going to take the plates to the back
and rinse them off for you, but I don’t
have any detergent to clean
them.”
He held my
hand and stopped me from taking
his plate. “What’s
wrong?”
“Oh, it just
startled me, is all. I’ll be
right
back.”
He allowed
me to go to the back with the
dishes. I set them in the sink and took a
deep breath while I hung my head and
leaned on the counter. I wondered if Al
was available. It made it easier after
I moved into Rachael’s apartment to see
her neighbor down the hall, but it also
made it more difficult to avoid him. I
needed to forget life for a while and he
always helped me with that, but he had
started to want too much. I just wanted
sex.
“Hey.” Mick
came into the back, scaring me.
I jumped, dropping the knife in the sink.
“I’m sorry. You were just back here a
little longer than I thought it would
take to rinse plates.”
“I must be
tired.” I grabbed a hand towel
and dried the plates. “They still need
soap, but at least you won’t get
anything
dirty.”
“Thanks.” He
looked back out to the front.
“Do you want to talk about
it?”
“No. There’s
nothing to talk about.” I
walked around him and took the plates to
the counter. He had already folded the
tablecloth.
“Okay, but
I’m a pretty good listener.”
“I’m not
good at talking. Just ask my
sister.”
He smiled.
“I’m not, either. I think that’s
what makes me a good listener.” He looked
around. “Well, I think I’ll get out
of your way and let you go home. You need
to rest up for your big
day.”
I laughed.
“That’s a lot of resting. It’s
still a few weeks out.” What I needed
wasn’t rest. I checked my watch. Al went
to bed early, and I needed to catch him
before he went to sleep.
He pointed
to my watch. “Do you have
somewhere you need to
be?”
“Not
exactly. I wanted to catch a friend
before he went to
sleep.”
“He?”
“I’m allowed
to have male friends.”
“I never
said you couldn’t.”
“It was
implied.”
He raised an
eyebrow. “From one word?”
“It was the
tone.”
He tilted
his head forward. “The tone was
surprise that you liked the male
species.”
“Occasionally.”
“I’m a lot
closer.”
“To what?”
He stepped
up to me but didn’t touch me.
“For what you need your friend
for.”
We stood
there staring at each other. He
was probably wondering if I was going to
take him up on his offer, and I was
wondering if he was serious. It didn’t
matter. I couldn’t get involved and risk
losing the shop, no matter how promising
the bulge he constantly put in front
of me
was.
“You have no
idea what I need my friend
for.”
He walked me
backwards until I hit the
counter. “You want him to take care of
your needs. Needs you suddenly have ever
since that cop car went blaring by. You
need him to help you forget life for a
while, to make you feel good, and
protected.” He leaned in and whispered in my
ear. “Deny
it.”
I swallowed
as he leaned in more, pressing
his body to mine and reaching behind me
to grab the dishes. I closed my eyes
when he walked away. The breath I had
been holding was finally released. Al
better not have gone to sleep
yet.
~*~
I unlocked
my door and threw my purse on
the chair. I wanted to take a shower
before I went to Al’s. He didn’t care if I
came over dirty from working in the shop,
but I cared. Before I got to the
bathroom, there was a knock on my door. I
smiled; only one person knocked like
that. He could shower with
me.
I opened the
door and smiled even wider.
“Hey, I was just going to jump in the
shower and head over, but you can come in
with me. My back needs
washing.”
He stepped in,
but didn’t look happy. “Deb,
we need to
talk.”
I lowered my
head and shut the door. I was
dreading this day, the day he demanded
more than sex. I turned and looked at
the guy I’d spent the last several months
with but knew very little about. That
was how I wanted to keep
it.
He was
blond, dumb, and a great fuck.
That’s all I needed to know and all I
wanted to know. I was going to miss the
orgasms he could give me. Fuck. “Al,
we’ve talked about this.”
“No,
actually.” He looked at the package in
his hands. “I met
someone.”
I took a
step back. I hadn’t expected that.
“You
did?”
“Yeah, and I
want to be exclusive with
her.” He handed me the
package.
“What’s
this?”
“A goodbye
gift.” He rubbed the back of his
neck with his hand. “Don’t open it until
I leave, but I feel bad about this.”
I put the
box on the side table and hugged
him. “Do not feel bad at all. I’m very
happy for you.”
He hugged me
back. “You are?”
“Of course.”
I backed up and patted his
chest. “You have a big heart in there and
have wanted to give it to someone for
a long time. I’m glad you’ve found
someone to give it to.” I looked at the
gift. “You really didn’t have
to.”
He smiled.
“Yes, I did.” He checked his
watch. “She’s coming over any minute, so
I should get back to my apartment.
Thanks for being cool with this. I’m
going to miss you.”
“I’m not
going anywhere, champ. We’ll still
see each other. We’ll just see each other
with our clothes on.”
He smiled and
nodded as he walked out. I
locked the door behind him and turned to
the package. I should’ve given it back
to him. He didn’t need to give me
anything. What I received from our time
together was the only thing I’d wanted
from him. I opened the package and
smiled. I guess he wanted to make sure I
still had my orgasms.
I took
it out and
looked at the deluxe model vibrator he
had given me. I wasn’t much into
vibrators and didn’t have the need for
them with him next door. I shrugged and
took it to the bedroom. I didn’t have him
anymore, so no need for his money to
go to waste.
Author Bio
B.L.
Mooney started writing when the voices and storylines in her head ran out of
room. They were getting too cramped and neither B.L. nor the characters could take
it anymore, so she did the only thing she could do—she made room. She always
knew she wanted to write, but vowed to make time for it later. Now that she’s
made time for writing, most everything else falls to the wayside. That seems to
suit the characters that keep popping up in her head just fine.
B.L. lives in the Midwest, and her other talents include in-demand cookies, a very dry sense of humor, and stealth eavesdropping. Some mannerisms, attitudes, or twists come from random sentences picked up while passing by strangers. So speak up the next time you have something to gossip about. You never know, it may just end up on the pages of the next book you read.
She loves to hear from her readers and you can contact her via email at AuthorBLMooney@gmail.com
B.L. lives in the Midwest, and her other talents include in-demand cookies, a very dry sense of humor, and stealth eavesdropping. Some mannerisms, attitudes, or twists come from random sentences picked up while passing by strangers. So speak up the next time you have something to gossip about. You never know, it may just end up on the pages of the next book you read.
She loves to hear from her readers and you can contact her via email at AuthorBLMooney@gmail.com
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