Promiscuous girls are called sluts.
Oversexed boys are seen by their peers as heroes or studs.
Double Standard?
Fuckin' A it is!
In my new story, Memories of Us, Call Barstow spends most of his teenage years trying to keep wild girl, Karis Hirt, out of trouble. It's full time job.
As an adult, Karis Hirt must live with the consequences of her wild youth.
Early peer review:
I really liked this story. I think their past together was very interesting and intense. It made me really care about them. And the characters are so very real. I think this is a story that a lot of people will relate to.
Blurb:
When the present and the past collide…
Call Barstow spent the better part of his teenage years fighting off the sexual advances of Karis Hirt. Gorgeous, wild, promiscuous, and his best friend, Trey’s little sister, to boot. This in the teenage boy vernacular is referred to as pure unadulterated hell!
Determined to keep his friends from his sister, Trey swears all his buddies to a hands-off-the-sister pact, which Call takes very seriously. Call’s pledge is only made more torturous when the sensual little vixen, Karis, is determined to make him break his vow. But his constant rejection only drives her to rebel, leaving her reputation in tatters.
Years later, Karis resurfaces in Call's life—a subdued version of the wild child he remembers. Suddenly the pact doesn’t seem important anymore, nor does her spotty reputation. As Call begins to reconcile the past-and-present Karis, he is inundated with memories of her and soon finds himself head over heels with the girl who consumed his youth.
Can Call not only forget but overlook her shadowed sexual history for a bright new future? Or will Karis’ wild past only lead to their eventual ruin?
Be Warned: public exhibition
Excerpt:
“Well, hello, gentlemen. Welcome to Kit’s. What can I get you?”
As soon as she started talking, it was as if I was caught in a time warp. I swung in the direction of the smoky feminine voice that had plagued most of my teenage years.
“Karis?”
Before I even realized what I was doing, I was up and out of my chair. Her face lit up right before I swallowed her up in a big bear hug.
“Call!” she shrieked, returning my hug as she threw her arms around my neck.
I closed my eyes and savored the feel of her slim but curvaceous form flush against my body. I inhaled her unforgettable exotic scent. The familiar yet unwelcome feeling of anxiety mixed with excitement shot through me.
The wild child, I thought affectionately as I held her. Christ! How many scrapes had Trey and I pulled her out of when we were younger? It hadn’t been easy on Trey, being Karis’ older brother, but it hadn’t been easy on any of us. She’d earned the nickname wild for a reason. It was actually a miracle she’d made it through high school relatively unscathed.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was about to ask you the same thing.”
The question had her easing back so she could look up at me. Reluctantly, I allowed it, but kept my hands at her waist, maintaining the hold.
Her expressive blue gaze darted about my face.
She looked beautiful, radiant even, with her long blonde hair tamed and braided in a loose fishbone style.
“Well, clearly, I own the place,” she quipped, looking down at the standard uniform, white blouse, and black slacks. She filled out the pristine top like no one else. “What brings you to my neck of the woods?” she asked again.
“My father had us up checking out one of those workplace retreats. He sent us to one before and it was a bust.”
“Why, your daddy’s never had public relations trouble or mutiny among the employees before?”
“No, it’s nothing like that, Kare. I think he’s probably paving my way. As always.”
“Ah.” She smiled softly, nodding.
“Ms. Hirt,” said one of the male servers, addressing her. “May I remind you, you are at work and hugging the clientele is strictly prohibited.”
“Whoops, sorry, Rob.” Along with the apology she sent him a suggestive smile, one I’d often been the recipient of in the past. It was meant to distract or cajole.
But I didn’t like the way he’d talked to her, whether he was a boss or an equal. I stared him down, but slowly eased my hands from Karis’ hips, afraid she might be reprimanded in private later.
“May I take your order, sir?” She grinned up at me. “No wait, I see you already have a beer there.” She nodded at my place. “If I remember correctly, you need a Red Bull chaser. Right?”
Smiling in return, I was about to ask when her break was so we could talk without her catching flack, when Jack piped in. “You can take my order, honey.”
With amusement clear in her eyes, Karis sidestepped me and directed her attention to Jack.
“What can I get for you, sir?” she asked. Then talking behind her hand but speaking loud enough for Jack to hear, she said, “This one went on the defunct seminar, I take it? He flunked the ‘don’t call her honey section’, didn’t he?”
Unable to stop myself, I snorted. “I told ya, Jack.” I wandered back to my seat.
“You can’t speak to people that way. You set him straight, wild child?” I looked down at Karis fondly as she shook her head at what I’d referred to her as. It was intentional. Jack watched on with interest.
“Oh, pretty little rich boy.” She replied with her old nickname for me, to the amusement of my co-worker. “I learned a long time ago, you can’t teach some boys any manners,” she said, with a saucy smirk as she ran her hand down my lapel.
“So how do you two know each other?” Jack asked.
Karis and I exchanged a fond look. “Call here was best friends with my big brother, Trey, all through school.”
“Ah, I see,” Jack said, leaning towards her with renewed interest.
“Karis!” Rob, the other waiter reprimanded her, a little louder this time.
“Seriously, guys, what can I get you? We need to make this look good,” she said, pen poised.
“I think we were gonna hit the buffet—Karis, is it?” Jack said, standing to his full height. “Jack Wake.” He introduced himself, hand extended.
Karis placed hers in his and I had the strangest urge to break their hold.
“Nice to meet you, Jack. You can call me, Ms. Hirt,” she said teasingly, adding a throaty chuckle.
“Ew, ouch, Ms. Hirt.” He grabbed his chest but watched her with certain male curiosity.
“Let me refresh your pitcher, so it at least looks like I’m earning my keep around here.” She leaned across the table, her blouse pulling tight over her full breasts as she retrieved the jug. “Be right back, fellas,” she said, and brushed up against me before she left. It was a move long ago contrived to drive me crazy and it still worked. My cock tugged. Hurriedly, I took my seat.
Jack rounded on me with a knowing grin, his eyes huge with interest. “Did you hit that?”
In a normal situation, I would have found this line of questioning amusing and a typical Jack comment, but this was Karis and like it or not, this was different.
“Watch it, Jack,” I cautioned, through gritted teeth. “She was my best friend’s sister, and that is all.”
“Ah, you poor fucker, I should have guessed. Knowing the kind of upstanding honorable guy you are, you stood by that unwritten dude rule, didn’t you? No sister fuckery. Ah, man, that must have been pure, unadulterated torture.”
I followed his gaze to my teenage torment. The image of Karis in a tiny blue bikini shimmered in my disreputable mind. And suddenly I was back in the Hirt family kitchen…
If you'd like to know Call's memory, pop on over to the Evernight site and read the excerpt there, as it continues from this point. It's a pretty good snip too.
Thanks for stopping. Happy Reading!
