The Rooster Club_The Best Cocks in Town
THE ROOSTER CLUB
The Best Cocks In Town
N.M. CATALANO
THE ROOSTER CLUB
The Best Cocks In Town
Copyright © 2015 by N.M. Catalano
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means,
electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by information storage and
retrieval system, without written permission of the author or publisher, except where permitted by law.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
ISBN: 978-1519358585
DEDICATION
This is to all of you who have a burning place in your heart for your first true love. Love never dies, it goes on forever.
This goes out to all of those guys, you know them, the ones we love to hate. And especially for those women who have loved them.
I’d like to give a huge thank you to “Michael”, yes, I did have long talks with him about his time at the top. And his long fall down. Thanks for being honest with me, I know it couldn’t have been very easy.
I’d like to send out another huge thank you to my brother, I sincerely appreciate all of your time and your stories.
I have to give a special thank you to my ex-husband, crazy right?, for letting me come to him with all my questions. You’re input was invaluable.
I huge thank you to my beta readers: Angie, Amy, Chris, Lora, Jacki, THANK YOU. I can’t thank you enough for all of your feedback.
And finally, most importantly, thank you to the readers. Without you, the characters would not live.
.
CONTENTS
Introduction
Pg 1
1
Chapter One
Pg 3
2
Chapter Two
Pg 31
3
Chapter Three
Pg 51
4
Chapter Four
Pg 72
5
Chapter Five
Pg 85
6
Chapter Six
Pg 103
7
Chapter Seven
Pg 129
8
Chapter Eight
Pg 147
9
Chapter Nine
Pg 168
10
Chapter Ten
Pg 194
11
Chapter Eleven
Pg 218
12
Chapter Twelve
Pg 242
13
Chapter Thirteen
Pg 258
14
Chapter Fourteen
Pg 276
15
Chapter Fifteen
Pg 292
16
Chapter Sixteen
Pg 307
17
Chapter Seventeen
Pg 326
18
Author’s Note
Pg 351
19
About the Author
Pg 354
20
Other Works
Pg 356
INTRODUCTION
Addiction. Sucks. They’ve got it all wrong. It’s not chasing the dragon. It’s actually the dragon taking you in its teeth, tearing you apart, ripping and shredding you in agonizing torture. Until you finally succumb to its ravenous need, giving it what it demands. And in return, you get sweet blissful release…that will destroy you. It promises it will love you, cherish you, give you exactly what you crave and need. It’s a liar.
You must slay your dragon.
I am an addict. Not the kind that you might think, but my addiction cost me so much. And I wasn’t the only victim of my dragon. That’s a cross I will have to carry the rest of my life.
We’re all addicts, some more dangerous than others, some not as obvious as the next. But we’ve all got that dragon lurking inside us. Drugs, booze, food, exercise, love, recognition, religion, power, control, sex, it doesn’t matter. It destroys lives, it destroys empires, and it destroys the two most precious things in life: hope and love.
I saw a second chance, and I went after it with everything I had.
Don’t hate me because of my dragon. Because I’ve hated myself enough.
Michael
1 CHAPTER ONE
Present Day
We all have that first true love, the one we never forget, the one that makes our heart hurt, even today.
This is our story. It spans decades.
This is his story.
All wrapped up in the decadence of the ‘80’s:
Sex (lots of it).
Drugs (almost as much).
Discos (where it all happened).
How it all crashed in the 90’s.
And today, how it found me once again…
Sit back, relax, and enjoy to the story, some parts you’re not going to believe, some of it I don’t think even he can believe, but this is how it all happened. You’re going to laugh, you’ll want to scream, and others you might even want to throw the book against the wall, but in the end…well, you’ll find out.
It really has two beginnings, let’s start here…
***
Have you ever had one of those days that just rocked your world? The one that comes from so far out of left field, knocks you on your ass, and there was no way in hell you would have ever seen it coming?
It started out just like any other day. Wake-up and pump your system full of that steamy magic-potion-in-a-cup that transforms you from walking zombie into civilized human being, ready to take on the world.
But today, Natalie’s past and present came crashing together, like that mythical asteroid that slams into the Earth, forever changing life as she knew it.
***
“Mom, we’re going to be late,” Alex stood tapping her foot at the front door, her backpack in tow.
“Honey, we’ve got more than five minutes before we have to get out the door,” Natalie told her oldest daughter again for the umpteenth time. “ANGEL, get down here, we have to go!” she yelled to her sister, the one who had absolutely no sense of time.
Every morning, it’s the same thing, one daughter rushing, and the other slow as molasses.
After Natalie dropped them at school, she settled herself in front of the computer to start her oh-so-exciting workday as a work at home medical coder. A chai latte was on her desk as she took her usual self-indulging fifteen minutes to see what it was like to have a social life by stalking her friend’s posts. She ignored the pang of guilt she momentarily felt for enjoying a quiet moment to herself without someone calling to her needing this or that.
Natalie was surprised to see she had a private message when she logged into Facebook. It was from a man she wasn’t friends with, but she thought, ‘Ooh, he’s handsome! Who is this?’ That was the million dollar question.
The lack of excitement from her real-life reflected plainly in the lack of activity in this social media account. She thought, ‘God, I’m so pathetic!’
Mystery Man just happened to be well-dressed and attractive, and from the looks of him, also successful. She did what any single woman would do who’d received a message from a good-looking man; she proceeded to stalk him, per se’. Natalie clicked on his name and was directed to his page. The first things she noticed was he’s married and he’s from Brooklyn. She continued browsing through his wall, then his pictures and saw him, (she thought he looked even better in this picture), with a woman and two teenage children. She gu
essed they were his wife, who was very attractive, and his kids. Finally she went through his friends.
‘There it is, our link! We have a mutual friend, Joey, my brother’s old friend.’ But the link still hadn’t given her a clue as to whether or not she knew him. So, she decided to go back through Mystery Man’s pictures to read some of the comments, maybe this mutual friend had left something that would help.
“Oh my God, I can’t believe it!” she murmured to herself.
The realization hit her like a bucket of ice water to the face when she found it. Every nerve ending in her body was shocked with jolts of electricity when she realized who this man was.
This man was Michael Stone.
Her first love.
The man who’d broken her heart, the man she’d waited years for. The man who she’d watched bring women home, and kiss good-bye in the morning after they’d spent the night in his bed.
The man who never left her heart.
He’d changed his last name to Sterling. This didn’t surprise her at all.
“I don’t believe it,” the words came out of her mouth softly as she slowly shook her head. She sat in disbelief, staring at the face in the picture that was vaguely familiar, remembering the last time she’d seen him. And the first time she laid eyes on that wickedly handsome face, and mostly his lips. Those lips that were always curved in the most delicious naughty-boy smile and, God, she still remembered his kisses. It’s been almost twenty-five years.
When Natalie first met Michael, and the rest of The Rooster Club, as they later called themselves, it was the 80’s and she was sixteen years old. Studio 54 had seen it’s time as the place for the rich and famous, cocaine was no longer thought to be the drug only for the glamourous people, and Plato’s Retreat, the sex club in Manhattan, wasn’t cool anymore, but disgusting. Aids was as much a part of everyone’s lives as Dynasty and Miami Vice; someone had it, or someone they knew had it. And the manufacture of authentic Quaaludes had stopped; they were just too damn good.
It was the time of decadence and assumed extravagance. People were partying as if they were in the courts of Caligula. Sex, drugs and booze flowed freely, without abandon, and without stopping. Cocaine had made it all possible, it was the magic drug. And everyone was doing it, had done it, or would be doing it very soon. Except Natalie.
Natalie replied to Michael’s message, knowing he would answer. He’d probably be a little surprised that she’d answer him at all, considering the shit that man put her through. She couldn’t resist. There is still a place in her heart for him, the asshole that he is. Or was. She supposed she’d find out which soon enough. She is a firm believer that a leopard never changes his spots. But that couldn’t stop her from messaging him back.
His initial message to her was, Hi, it’s good to see you, how are you?
She answered him with nervous fingers and a pounding heart.
Hello Michael, just thought I’d drop a note to say hi and what a surprise it was to see you ~ N
His reply was almost instant, just two minutes later.
Hi, it’s great to hear from you, how are you? It’s been a long time. I’ve thought about you over the years and always wondered if you were ok. You’re still as beautiful as ever ~ M
Her heart crashed against her chest. In an instant he’d sucked her back into that familiar place from so many years ago. But her mind kept her rational, pulling her back to reality, gripping her tightly and dragging her by the hand, yelling at her to be cautious and to take it easy.
Thank you, yes it’s been a lifetime. I’ve thought about you too and I’m glad to see you’re well. ~ N
How is the family? Are you married? ~ M
The family is well, but my mother passed away about five years ago. I’m divorced and I have two children. And you? ~ N
Everyone is great, and I have six grandchildren. Life is good. ~ M
Looking back, she remembered he had a small son back in Brooklyn with a woman he hadn’t been married to. The last time she’d seen him, he’d recently had a daughter with his wife at the time. God only knows how many more kids he had between the two in the picture and the other two she knew about; the man couldn’t keep his little head to himself. He is five years older than Natalie, which isn’t a lot, but when the girl is sixteen and the man is twenty-one, in the age of sex, drugs, disco and rock & roll, it makes a big difference.
Wow, Christmas must be fantastic at your house. ~ N
They are so great. I’d love to talk with you sometime. ~ M
A new wave of shock washed over her.
That would be nice. ~ N
Here’s my number, call me anytime 555-444-1234 ~ M
Likewise, 555-234-5678 ~ N
As Natalie sat back in her chair in front of her desk staring at the few lines of dialogue with Michael, her pulse raced and there was still some residual shock flowing through her. She still couldn’t believe after so many years, this was Michael. Images sped through her mind of the last few times they’d seen each other. They’d somehow managed to connect and get together, him in his first marriage, Natalie going through her rebellious phase. The painful memories still made her heart ache, lingering as it stabbed her with its poison.
‘God, the things he put me through…and I went back. Every. Single. Time.’
She lowered her head, remembering all of it.
Natalie had fallen in love with the biggest dick of that whole crew. When she first met him it was as if he sucked her soul from her body and claimed it, owned it, took it for himself, and it no longer belonged to her.
Still today, so many years later, a piece of that ownership was still there. Everything inside Natalie lurched and tightened around her heart with such ferocity, and shocked it awake.
Somewhere inside, there was a part of her that still loved him deeply and passionately, with a depth that frightened her. But made her feel alive. Just the sight of him in that stupid little profile picture was like a veil being lifted, awakening her heart from its coma from the heartache when he’d left her broken. The blanket of self-preservation that she’d clothed herself in was ripped away and all those old emotions ran through her like a tsunami, pulling her in, as her fingers clawed for something to grab on to. She couldn’t see it, there was no warning, but it crashed down on her and consumed her.
She knew she was in so much trouble. Again. Still.
His image now, as she sat staring at it, was formidable. He looked like a man who took what he wanted with intensity and confidence, and that smirk on those lips she still remembered said, ‘I’m coming for you, and I’m going to relish every minute of playing with you. I’m going to eat you alive and savor it. Every. Last. Bite.’
And she knew she would go back again. All he had to do was ask.
***
Life, as much as we don’t want it to, insists on being in control. Even though her mind couldn’t put thoughts of Michael aside, bills still needed to be paid and children needed to be taken care of. Her body went to work and participated in life while thoughts of Michael were her constant companions. He’d awakened that slumbering young woman she thought she’d buried decades ago.
“Make sure you get your homework done!” Natalie yelled out to her two children as they jumped up from the dinner table and ran up the stairs to their bedrooms.
“I will,” came both their little voices in unison as their doors slammed shut.
As Natalie began the nightly routine of cleaning up, washing dishes, and getting the children’s lunch boxes ready for the next day, her cell phone rang. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw it was Michael.
“Hello Mr. Stone,” she said into the phone as a slow smile crept across her face.
That sexy laugh she immediately remembered from before sent warm waves through her.
“Hi, Natalie, can you talk?” he asked.
The world could have been under a state of emergency and she would have spoken to him. The bastard. He still owned her and she knew there wasn’t
a damn thing she could do about it.
“Yes, perfect timing. How are you?” she answered, trying to keep the excitement in check.
She wiped her hands on the kitchen towel and went outside, where the walls wouldn’t have ears. Her nerves were racing as an image of her sixteen year-old self flashed through her mind.
“I’m great. It’s so good to hear your voice, how are you?” he said and Natalie could hear the smile in his words. It made her smile bigger.
“I’m good, thanks. I have to say it was really a surprise when I saw your message,” she laughed lightly.
“I know, it’s been a long time. You haven’t changed at all, Natalie.”
His words stroked her with the seduction he always made her feel, and she proceeded to melt a little bit more.
“A lifetime it seems…you still look great, you always did,” Natalie told him genuinely.
“Thank you. It has been too long, but I’ve thought about you over the years, where you were, what you were doing, if you were ok. I called your office in Manhattan and they told me you’d left the year before. Then a few years later I called information in North Carolina for you, and there wasn’t a listing.”
Natalie’s mind fought with her heart as it reminded her he’d hurt her before, lied to her so many times, gave her line after line of bullshit.
“Why?” was all she could manage to choke out.
She heard him take a deep breath.
“First, I want…no, I need to apologize…for everything. All that I put you through, for hurting you, for every shitty thing I did. I’m sorry, Natalie.”
There was a sincerity in the voice of the man he had become, one she’d never heard in him before. And it began to tear down the wall of protection that she’d fooled herself into believing she’d built against him, and the love she had for him.