The Dirty Rooster

By Kelly Mooney

Dreams aren’t supposed to have an expiration date...
Preston Ellingham spends long summer days on Hilton Head at his father’s hotel bar, slinging Dirty Rooster shots to half-naked women who eagerly jump into his bed for the promise of an equally dirty night. That’s the only promise he’ll make, since anything else will interfere with his plans. Commitment? The word leaves a worse taste in his mouth than a Dirty Rooster.
He has a dream and a trust fund. The last thing he needs is some gold-digger trying to sink her claws into his future.
Summer Fallon fled her hometown in New Jersey as soon as she had her college diploma in hand. She arrives in Hilton Head with one goal – to make as much money as possible without distractions in the form of sleazy bartenders who take home a different girl every night. Her job as a hotel maid sure isn’t glamorous, considering the marathon sex fests she needs to clean up afterward in the penthouse, but it’s going to jumpstart her new life.
Because she also has a dream...
But sometimes, bad judgement can destroy those dreams.
And once they are shattered, can they ever really be made whole again?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Mooney
• Release date: Jul 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9780463002377

Kelly Mooney

Kelly grew up in Southern New Jersey. She currently resides in Pitssford, NY with her husband and two kids. She developed a love for writing teen romances over the last few years. She has now completed three teen romances in hopes of getting them published. There really is nothing like falling in love for the first time, so this is what she writes. Her second book Never Say Never is the second book she wrote and is now available on Smashwords and Amazon.

Book preview

1

NEW BEGINNINGS

SUMMER

---

Summer sat tapping her French manicured nails impatiently on the curb, waiting for her best friend to pick her up from the nasty motel they had stayed in the night prior. They couldn’t get into their summer rental until the next morning so they stayed nearby.

Jenny was late and that always irritated the hell out of Summer. Jenny knew how her little pet peeves infuriated her to no end, and this was Summer’s biggest one of them all, yet somehow she knew Jenny did it on purpose to ruffle her feathers. Pfft. She blew her freshly cut blonde bangs from her forehead as the warmth of the sun made them heavy with sweat.

Summer looked down at her watch for what felt like the hundredth time, noticing almost an hour had gone by since she was expected. Screw this! I’ll call Uber. She really didn’t have the money to blow, but she didn’t really want to be sitting curbside any longer either.

She yanked out her cell to call Jenny for the hundredth time.

Hey, Summer, a voice boomed, along with the low rumbling of a car, get your skinny ass in here. Finally!

Summer stood, stretching her arms over her head, trying to work the kinks out of her neck from the old, dirty, and warped mattress she’d slept on before grabbing her lone suitcase. A large, beat up old thrift shop purchase, but still, it was all her folks had to offer her to use for the summer working at a posh hotel on the beautiful north end beach on the island of Hilton Head.

She and her best friend, Jenny, had landed jobs as cleaning ladies while on winter vacation a few months prior with Jenny’s family. Her family treated them to a little R & R over the holidays. They came here every year, as it was their favorite.

She had hated the term maid, and when the hotel phoned to offer her the job, she asked if their name tags could read custodial liaison in hopes of fluffing her resume, but he just laughed. That certainly didn’t give her the warm and fuzzies she was looking for, but the pay was better than good, and she needed the money to help carve her way into the real world.

The real world! She didn’t even fully understand what that entailed other than the odd feeling her parents were saying, Adios, kiddo! You’re on your own from here on out. Four years of college and she felt like all of it went straight down the crapper. She couldn’t land a job in her field, and it pissed her off beyond belief. Too young, not the right fit, too under qualified, yada, yada, yada. Well, how the heck was one supposed to get qualified if no one ever gave you a chance, right?

They had a goal though. They would move to a big city with the money they earned over the summer and land the jobs of their dreams. Whoever got one first, the other would follow and bust their ass to get one in the same area so they wouldn’t have to separate. They knew they could do it; they just had to reach harder. It was a well thought out plan, at least she hoped it was.

You’re late. You took off without telling me or leaving a simple text again. You know how much I hate that. She dumped her luggage into the back of the 2005 Ford as Jenny used the rearview mirror to apply her lip gloss.

Jenny cringed and kindly displayed her best job at pouting. I filled the tank. And, I know, sorry, but, I got you your favorite. She dangled the sweet, frothy temptation that Jenny knew Summer couldn’t turn down.

Don’t try to weasel your way out with an iced mocha double whipped frap. You were supposed to be here waiting by the time I got out of the shower.

Oh, settle down, would you? It’s only a short drive onto the island. And as far as where I was, I apologize, I got kind of sidetracked with this very hot, very sexy barista named Tyler.

Summer sighed, pulling her hair up and secured her ponytail with a rubber band. You’ve been here less than a day, and you already found someone to hook-up with?

Jenny reached over, flicking Summer’s hair. Picking up a guy here is not what I would consider work or hard for that matter. It’s the beach and they’re everywhere, and they are ripe for the picking. Jenny sipped her drink. Oh my God, and he had the sweetest little accent. I could just eat him up.

Yeah. She sighed again thinking briefly about the possibility of some sordid summer love affair. Maybe. Jenny had always been the one to reel a guy in first; not that it was a competition, but Jenny loved harmless one-night stands, just like a lot of the girls did in their sorority.

Summer was always the oddball out. She was the hopeless romantic who always got used, with the notion she was changing the bad boy into a full-time lover. She blamed her parents, seeing as they barely had two nickels to rub together most of the time, but none of that mattered to them, because their love trumped all else. And seeing first hand what real love should be like, not only did she crave it, but she also believed it to be within arm’s reach.

Even though a lot of women probably wouldn’t admit to being into one-night stands, they were, at least her friends were. The first fact of women—they lie when they tell you sex isn’t as important as it is to a man. Heck, yeah, it is. There really is nothing like the first kiss with someone you are hot for; heart pounding, knees buckling, hands everywhere, unable to control yourselves kind of sex. Oh, and size does matter!

But for Summer lately, it was more of a matter of the perfect fit. She didn’t want to just hook-up and then kick him out of bed. She wanted a genuine relationship, one that made her toes curl and her leg lift when she was kissed. She’d wanted to lift her leg all right, as of late, but usually, it was aimed between their legs for being a jackass.

You, my friend, need to get laid and soon. It has been way too long. And look at you, you’re fucking gorgeous, Sum. You need to stop with your stupid lists of the perfect guy because, sweetie, he doesn’t exist.

He does. I just haven’t met him yet.

Summer, you dumped douchebag Ryan because you didn’t like the shoes he matched with his polo shirt and khakis on your fifth date. That’s whacked even for you, and you know it.

She wrinkled her nose, remembering. Those shoes were hideous and besides, Ryan was just…boring and going nowhere in life, living in his dad’s basement.

True, but you’re only twenty-two. Live a little.

She didn’t feel like being picked apart, so she changed the subject. So what’s the place like we’re staying in or should I just go ahead now and call it a dump? Jenny’s parents rented it sight unseen, hiring someone to go in and clean it up. They even forwarded some pictures to her folks so they had an idea of where their baby was staying. She was their only child, so they spoiled her rotten, but who could blame them. She was the bomb!

She rolled her eyes, sighing as she pulled onto the highway. Wow, I see someone took their happy pill today. It’s not that bad. They thoroughly cleaned every inch of the place. The bedrooms are small, but the view isn’t the worst. If you look really, really hard, you can even see the ocean.

Summer laughed. You mean if you stand on the roof, right?

She laughed along. Exactly, but don’t go shoeless, the grip sucks apparently.

She didn’t bother to hide her fear. She didn’t know if she was being truthful or not, and with Jenny, you never knew what to expect.

Jenny busted out laughing. You should see your face; it’s priceless. I was kidding, Sum. There’s a small deck off the front and it’s totally safe.

Those simple words eased her mind. Summer was caught up in looking at all the Spanish moss dangling from the trees, not paying attention to their surroundings. Amazed at how beautiful they were, romantic even.

Jenny pulled up to a very lovely home with a big old front porch wrapping around the front that Summer was sure covered the entire house. That’s our love palace for the summer. She couldn’t help but smile, but not a beat had gone by when Jenny shook her head, tipping her Ray-Bans toward the mossy green monstrosity. Not that one, her hand lifted and pointed to the rear, that one. Any high hopes she had deflated the instant she saw the paint peeling. She wondered if the stairs connected to the garage that led up to the bungalow were even safe.

She studied the small garage that matched the green house with stairs on the side that led to their little bungalow. Damn, I knew that was too good to be true, she sighed. Oh, well, we’ll make the best of it, right, Jen?

Damn right, Fallon. Now get your crap so we can fight for the best room.

It wasn’t much, but it was a place with furniture that appeared to have seen better days, surprisingly comfy, and the best part of the apartment was that they were only a few beach blocks from the ocean. And Jenny was right, you could see the blue of the ocean if you tried hard enough from the deck.

Jenny’s folks insisted on springing for her last summer to do whatever it was she wanted, so who were we to pass up the free rent. We figured saving all season we’d rent an apartment of our own, wherever the wind blew us. We were hoping that wind blew us as close to the beach as possible.

They both graduated with degrees in business and marketing. And they both fell flat on their asses interview after interview. So there they were spending one last hoorah at the beach. Jenny even gave her the whole, It might be our last summer together; what if one of us lands a job far away or something? It’ll be our last chance to be carefree, bill free. You just have to come, Summer.

In actuality it didn’t sound terrible; it was just the job that sounded dreadful. Who the hell wanted to make beds and wipe down toilets all summer long? Not this chica. But, she conceded because she couldn’t say no to her best friend.

Besides, they figured there might be more opportunities down south and flooded their resumes to several companies before even coming down.

Jenny and her parents had gone and done an amazing thing, so she refused to complain. They didn’t have to include her in Jenny’s free summer at one of the most beautiful beaches she’d ever laid eyes on, but they had. They always thought of her, too, and insisted on her being part of the family. Summer always chalked it up to her having a crazy amount of cousins on her father’s side, so what was the big deal throwing one more into the mix?

Summer smiled. You look ridiculously cute today. Let me guess, you’ll be seeing this Mr. Barista dude later?

She shot her a sidelong glance. Babe, please, we are going out on the town tonight. So I hope to God you packed better shit than what you chose to wear on the way down here. Besides, it doesn’t hurt to dress up a little to make yourself feel better. Apparently, you didn’t get that message from my text about what to pack.

What? She looked down at her old beat up t-shirt and jean shorts that were a size too big and had bleach stains all over them. But they were cozy. It’s my travel wear. I like comfy. You know this about me.

Welp. She looked at her. It’s certainly not dressing for success, as you so often like to put it.

I brought plenty of nice things to wear, don’t you worry. Summer five and dimed everything. She never paid the retail price because in all seriousness—why the hell would anyone? With all the variety of outlet malls, clearance sections, and consignment shops, what was the point? It was a lesson her mother taught her early on in life. Sadly, a lesson taught because they had very little to spend when it came to the latest fashions. Which meant Summer was never wearing the latest trends.

Jenny shrugged. If you plan on meeting anyone worthy, then maybe go shower and find one of those cute outfits.

Summer flashed a brief smile, rummaging through the cabinets, thinking they needed to go shopping. I’m not down here looking for some kind of love for the summer, Diaz.

Me either, Fallon. Just a nice, crazy summer romance. She grinned. Maybe several, she said, wiggling her eyebrows.

Summer giggled, knowing full well she meant it.

2

CRASH AND BURN

PRESTON

---

Preston woke feeling better than he should have considering the amount of alcohol he plowed through the night prior. He felt an arm draped across his chest. Groaning, he rubbed his eyes and looked to his side.

The hot little brunette, Abby, who practically threw herself at him last night was still here, sprawled naked across his bed. He had been working the bar outside when she and a few friends rolled in prior to going out for some bachelorette party. She stayed behind. He knew this made her one shitty friend, but he wasn’t going to complain considering she was stacked with a set of double Ds on a tiny frame, and looking to get laid to revenge her ex who had just dumped her the weekend before.

He smiled. He never minded when women used him. It made him feel better about himself, like he was doing a good deed. It hadn’t even been high season yet and he had at least, hell, he lost count of how many women he had taken up to his room in the last three weeks.

Although, his jaw still was sore from two nights ago when he was reeling this blonde cutie in with one of his Dirty Rooster shots, determined to get her on her knees, until her asshole boyfriend showed up out of nowhere.

The one who got away, and that irritated him because he was usually sure of the women who would smile and accept his offer over the ones who would slap him across his face. His best friend, Chase, always called it good luck, but Preston called it a gift. The one thing he knew was how to read a woman.

He glanced at the clock knowing he didn’t have much time before Lorraine came knocking to clean. He smacked her perfectly heart shaped bare ass, trying to stir her to get her up and get out. Shit, he mumbled, feeling his morning hard-on. He lifted the sheet. Really?

He rolled onto his side, opened the drawer and nabbed a condom.

Just another day in paradise.

William Preston Ellington III knew precisely what he was on the prowl for when he entered the small seaside bar he’d frequent whenever he was in town for the summer. He had three qualities that he preferred, and thankfully his type was always there whenever he looked; built like a brick shithouse, didn’t need to be asked twice, and wasn’t looking for more than a one-night stand. He wasn’t raised to think about women in the manner he had been for years, but he figured most men did at the age of twenty-six.

He noticed the dim lights as he scanned the scene, landing on a woman who was precisely his type and anyone with a functioning dick’s type as well. Although, he usually went balls to the wall when it came to a chick like her, he found himself questioning whether he should or not. Any sensible man would at least give it a go, right? But, he held back, watching her instead.

She was one of those women men threw themselves at, no matter where, no matter when, to gain an ounce of her attention, and quite frankly, he couldn’t help but think there was a piece of her that reminded him of his bitch of an ex.

He knew that was the one thing holding him back from approaching her. His folks thought Ashley was the one who had gotten away and all, but he considered himself lucky enough to escape. He never told them the reasons he left her; just told them she wouldn’t be coming around anymore.

Gold diggers need not apply.

Preston sat on a barstool, ordered his usual bourbon on the rocks, contemplating cutting in, but that was beneath him. He never stepped on another man’s toes for a piece of ass and never would. Usually, his charm would do all the legwork, and they’d follow him back to his hotel, panties down at their ankles, legs in the air, and then spend a few wild hours before he would show them the door.

He knew how to do this life. And, he knew how to do it well. The walls he had built since Ashley, kept him safe, kept his heart guarded, and kept his mind on his goals in life.

Even though he forced himself to look away several times, he found himself not bothering to hide his interest in her at some point. That point being she was drop dead beautiful. She wasn’t the hot chick you imagined doing dirty, wild things to. Instead, she was drop dead sweet as fuck looking, where instead of dirty, she managed to get you to make love to her. And then when you were done, you knew you were fucked