Avoiding Temptation

by Van Dyken, Rachel

  He was her everything.

  And she lost it all.

  It was an obsession.

  And I knew how those ended.

  Broken hearts, stolen lives.

  I jogged down the steps two at a time and made my way out of the building, hating myself the entire walk to my waiting Jeep.

  Chapter Six

  Tatum

  I didn’t speak to him the rest of the day. In fact, I was having trouble breathing normally. My chest ached, and I wanted to throw something, mainly Slater, off a cliff.

  Sure, I’d walked into this.

  Done it to myself.

  Maybe I’d had it all wrong.

  Guilt punched me in the chest as I grabbed my phone and quickly sent off a text to him.

  UnluckyinLove: Hey, I think I need more Wingmen help.

  Slater8: Want me to book you for another digital session?

  UnluckyinLove: Just one. You free now?

  I wasn’t being completely honest with him. But what else was I supposed to do when I had been going through pure hell at my old school? When I had needed someone who wouldn’t come murder my ex-boyfriend and put his head on a pike? I knew exactly what my brother did for a living. I wore no rose-colored glasses, and since we had no Wingmen team at Seattle Pacific, I did what any smart girl would do.

  I did digital text therapy through their insane new app.

  And I met Slater. We’d talked on the phone exactly once, during our intro meeting—another reason I thought he’d recognize my voice. Most people did; I had a soft rasp to it.

  Slater had no idea I was both, UnluckyinLove as well as the little sister. See, I wasn’t totally crazy. Just kissing a random stranger—technically he was a stranger, but technically I’d also known him or been speaking to him for the last year.

  Ah, the guilt came again swiftly, painfully. He had a right to know but after the elevator today? I didn’t really care. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more he deserved to be put through a little hell.

  So what? We couldn’t keep our hands off each other, and he decided to insult me as if it was my fault we both have hormones?

  Slater8: Sure, what’s going on, beautiful?

  I ignored the way my stomach erupted into millions of little butterflies that cheered at the thought of being called beautiful.

  Settle down, heart.

  UnluckyinLove: As you know, I switched schools after this last year’s catastrophe with my ex… I may have jumped the gun a bit with someone new, and I managed to pick another asshole who just wants to get into my pants—or so he says every time we’re together in order to purposefully hurt me and push me away.

  Slater8: ……

  I waited, it looked like he was typing, deleting, then typing again.

  Slater8: Don’t just give in to a guy because he’s good looking. And let’s be honest, most guys just want sex, especially in college, because most guys are assholes. Why don’t you attempt being friends before jumping the gun?

  A smile curved across my lips. If the guy only knew that he was telling the girl he was petrified of, that she should be his buddy.

  UnluckyinLove: Can girls and guys ever really be friends?

  Slater8: If he’s a true gentleman and worth your time, then yes, they can. Why don’t you try being nice, no ulterior motives, find out his likes, dislikes, see if he’s really a jerk or if there’s something beneath the surface.

  UnluckyinLove: And if he’s a surface asshole and it doesn’t change?

  Slater8: Then you move on, and you use our dating app to match you with someone who deserves you. Know your worth, okay?

  UnluckyinLove: Thanks, Slater.

  Slater8: My name could be Eight too… Just saying.

  I laughed.

  UnluckyinLove: I would feel so ridiculously sorry for you if that was the case, it’s almost as bad as four.

  Slater8: Hey, I loved that movie!

  UnluckyinLove: YOU would.

  Slater8: At the risk of sounding completely unprofessional and getting too personal… You’re okay, right? At this new school? I don’t need to kick anyone’s ass?

  I grinned down at the phone.

  UnluckyinLove: Nah, just do me a favor, all right?

  Slater8: Sure!

  UnluckyinLove: Be nice.

  Slater8: Why do I feel like you know something I don’t? Besides, I’m a complete gentleman.

  UnluckyinLove: You’re a guy. So…

  Slater8: Don’t blame us all for one man’s transgressions. Should I go murder him for you?

  UnluckyinLove: No, just promise to be nice.

  Slater8: You got it.

  UnluckyinLove: Thanks again.

  Slater8: Always here for you, UnluckyinLove.

  I sighed.

  That was the problem.

  He’d helped me through the hardest year of my life, and now he was live and in the flesh.

  Finn didn’t know I’d looked at his laptop during break to see who this insanely amazing guy was.

  It wasn’t my fault Finn’s password has been the same since junior high.

  I shoved my phone back in my pocket and decided to test my theory. Was Slater just a horny asshole? Or was there more?

  I quickly shot off a text to my brother.

  Tatum: Grabbing you guys Starbucks. Drink order?

  Finn: Black. And Slater says he’s good, but on the DL he would commit a crime for one of their peppermint hot chocolates.

  Tatum: Got it.

  I nearly killed two mailboxes on my way to Starbucks and was sweating by the time I made it back to the dorm.

  I’d grabbed their drinks, extra whip for Slater, and even added two pumpkin spice scones—my favorite.

  Part of me still felt guilty that Slater didn’t know I was the same girl, but the other part of me justified that he didn’t deserve to know. Because the minute he did, he would know all my secrets, my pain, my shame, and what if he really was like that guy in the elevator in real life? What if he really did just see me as something to get out of his system.

  The thought made me physically sick.

  “Knock, knock.” I kicked the door open and set the treats all on the main counter.

  The TV was on the Disney channel, which I would normally say was weird, except Finn was a huge fan of only happy things being on in the background—something about having a positive aura when people walked into the suite.

  The minute he came out of his room, I knew there was something wrong. His normally chipper demeanor wasn’t there. In fact, he looked both pissed and pale.

  “Finn?” Had someone died? “What’s going on?”

  “Dad,” he spat. “Well, Dad and Mom.”

  I squeezed my eyes shut as my hands trembled in search of a chair to pull out. When I finally got it, I collapsed onto it. “Money again?”

  He snorted. “Look, we’re set Tatum, but my lawyer just called. They’re trying to fight for half of our inheritance since technically Grandma had dementia in the last year of her life.”

  I jumped out of my chair. “But she did her will years before that in front of a witness and a team of lawyers!”

  “I know.” Finn put his hands on my shoulders. “Look, it’s just another expensive and manipulative ploy for me to come home and toss money at them. I’ll bet you anything they have a house they want to buy or a vacation they want to go on but don’t want to fund. Whatever it is, I’ll find out, give it to them, make them sign some scary legal shit that they can’t keep doing this, and I’ll be back in a few days…”

  My head jerked up. “A few days?”

  His smile was sad. “Aw, will you miss me?”

  “But—” Panic spread. “I barely know anyone!”

  “You’ll be fine. You know Slater.” He cupped my face with his hands. “And he’ll be on his best behavior. You can trust him.”

  I gulped as my heart beat guilty, guilty, guilty.

  “Besides…” Finn grabbed his coffee and took a sip. “It’s
mid-week, I’ll be gone, at the longest, until Sunday, and then all of this will just be a bad memory. You’ll see.”

  I nodded, not in the mood to argue something so necessary and something he was doing on behalf of both of us.

  He’d spent his life protecting me.

  Loving me.

  And look how I repaid him.

  His best friend.

  That was how I repaid his loyalty.

  God, I was stupid.

  A tear slipped down my cheek.

  “Hey.” Finn pulled me in for a hug, I loved the way he smelled, like a mixture of Ralph Lauren cologne and coffee. He always smelled good, and girls always commented on it.

  I sighed against his chest, feeling better than I had in days.

  “I’ve got you,” he whispered. “I’ve got us, all right?”

  “All right.” I pulled away and noticed something dark at the door.

  A duffel bag.

  “You’re leaving now!” I screeched.

  “Well, yeah.” He frowned. “The sooner, the better, and that guy—” He pointed at Slater who had just appeared and looked ready to break something or someone in half. “—promised to make sure you don’t get hit on and that your virginity stays intact for the next six days!”

  Kill. Me. Now.

  I gaped.

  And then I had nothing.

  Absolutely nothing to say.

  How could he!

  It wasn’t for lack of trying!

  “What?” Finn laughed. “Come on, you’re my baby sister, I’m kidding, just don’t tell me gory details. Oh, and seriously, no guys. I get to screen anyone who so much as looks in your direction. So, until I come back, think of Slater as your brother replacement, okay?”

  And the gates of hell have opened. “Great.” It was a weak answer, but Finn was too distracted to notice.

  He grabbed his duffel bag, said his goodbyes, whispered something in Slater’s ear that sounded like another warning.

  And then he was out the door.

  And I was stuck with the guy who now assumed I was a curious handsy virgin with daddy issues.

  Perfect.

  Brother. My. Ass.

  Slater opened his mouth.

  “No!” I waved a muffin in front of his face. “I’m not doing this; we’re not doing this. I’m going to go lock myself in my room for at least six days, I mean I’ll take bathroom breaks and order pizza, but no. You’re not my brother. First off, you’re too short—”

  “The hell?” he roared. “I’m nearly six-foot!”

  “Exactly.” I smiled and patted his shoulder. “Second, I know the last thing you want is babysitting duty, I’ll be f-fine.”

  I just had to stutter, didn’t I?

  Slater was quiet; his green eyes drank me in. “It’s okay to show weakness.”

  “Not in front of the lion, it isn’t,” I countered.

  “If I’m the lion that makes you… what?”

  “Juicy antelope?” I offered. “Does it matter?”

  “Are all antelope juicy or just you?”

  “I’d like to think I’m special.” I batted my eyelashes and then shook my head on a laugh. “Seriously, it’s fine, I’m just going to go over to my side of the room.”

  “You gonna draw a line too and build a pillow fort to protect your virtue?” he teased.

  I clenched my fists. “For your information, I’ve had loads of sex!”

  Slater’s eyebrows shot to his gorgeous hairline. “I don’t believe I was asking about how many sexual partners you’ve had, but good on you, scratch that itch, and all that.”

  I groaned into my hands. “I’m not a slut. I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just that… Finn—” I swallowed the thick dryness in my throat. Damn, it was like the Sahara in there. “He’s wrong. About that… sort of.”

  Slater’s eyes narrowed as he started walking toward me, and then a slow circle around me. “Sort of?”

  Trapped. I was trapped. “You know, he’s sort of wrong.”

  “So, you’re sort of a virgin?” He grinned.

  Could you get away with murder in the state of Washington if you dragged the body onto your property and claimed robbery? Must look that up later…

  “Never mind.” I tried walking away only to have his hand shoot out and grab my wrist, spinning me back around toward him.

  His green eyes locked onto me. “You know you could always just start with brutal honesty. It’s kind of what I liked about you most.”

  I felt caught. Trapped. He had no idea I was the biggest liar of them all right now—or that I was having a hard time thinking. At least he was being nice. Progress.

  My shoulders slumped. “Pinky swear.”

  “What are we pinky swearing on?” He held up his pinky.

  “Our first secret.” I narrowed my eyes as our pinkies twisted around each other.

  “Deal.”

  “I’ve never actually, fully… had…” I gulped. “Sex.”

  His lips curved into a smile that I felt up and down my body like a caress. “I think I like trading secrets with you.”

  “You’re not shocked?”

  “Shocked, a bit. You’ve got balls, I’ll give you that,”

  “Uh, thank you?”

  “My turn.”

  “So, we are trading?” I found myself smiling.

  “It appears so.” His lips twitched.

  “And?”

  He leaned in and whispered. “The first time I’ve gone down on a girl… was this morning….”

  I gasped in a shocked breath while my heart thundered in my chest. “Well, then, how dare you be so talented?”

  He barked out a laugh. “Ah, six days…” Shaking his head, he backed up, then pointed to the floor between us. “The imaginary line won’t be crossed now that we’ve had this conversation. Deal?”

  “Never made a deal with the devil before… color me intrigued.” I laughed.

  His smile was everything. “Well?”

  I held out my hand and shook his and then did the only thing I could do. “Want a muffin?”

  Chapter Seven

  Slater

  Best muffin I’d ever tasted.

  Get your head out of the gutter.

  As promised, we drew an imaginary line through the middle of the shared living room, and for good measure, we enhanced it with pillows. It ended up looking more like a fort than anything that could keep me away from her room.

  Something had shifted between us. Maybe it was the shared secrets, maybe it was the fact that Finn was gone, and I knew that my sole responsibility was to make sure I kept his sister safe, and I knew exactly what it felt like to fail in that arena.

  She stopped the flirting.

  Or at least she toned it down a lot.

  I felt like I could finally breathe around her, and by the time dinner rolled around, and she set a box of pizza in what we’d labeled our truce table, I was actually convinced I could do it.

  Six whole days.

  “What do you want to watch?” She handed me the remote, and I gave her a funny look. “What?”

  “Girls don’t typically offer the remote out of the kindness of their heart… what do you want?”

  Her mouth split into a grin. “Why does it have to be a negotiation every time?”

  “Because you’re you,” I pointed out. “So, spill.”

  “Well…” She clicked the power on. “It’s just, the new season of The Voice is on in a half-hour, so I figured if I let you watch what you wanted to watch for thirty minutes, you would be more likely to let me change the channel so I could stare at John Legend.”

  “Ah, sexiest man alive.”

  She did a little jig that I found way too adorable for words.

  I sighed in exasperation. “Did you just spend your life emotionally tormenting those around you until you got your way? Or is this just a treat for me?”

  She grinned. “Both?”

  “Ah, feed my ego, good answer.” I plopped down
on the couch. “Fine, we can watch The Voice in a half-hour as long as I can have more than one piece of pizza.”

  “Another negotiation?” She handed me a white paper plate and plopped a giant piece of supreme on it.

  “Not really, because I would take more than one piece anyway. Think of it as your way of taking care of my physical needs while your brother’s away.”

  She burst out laughing. “Because you need a stand-in for when he’s gone? Something you’re not telling me?”

  I glared. “You know what I meant.”

  “No… I don’t think I do.” She laughed harder. “How does my brother meet your… needs?”

  I glared. “He’s my best friend, don’t get any ideas. Besides, I think I’m too pretty for him, you know? Or maybe we’re just too pretty for each other. It would be weird. One of us needs to know how to chop wood.”

  “You can’t chop wood?”

  “No, not well. Does that make me less of a man?”

  Tatum’s eyes flickered over my body. “N-no.”

  “You stutter when you’re nervous.”

  “I’m not nervous.”

  “Ah, so you stutter when you’re hungry for things other than pizza?”

  She threw a pillow at my face. “Stop flirting. Remember, this is the safe zone.”

  “Wasn’t the safe zone this morning,” I said under my breath, and a beautiful flush touched her cheeks. “Sorry. It slipped.”

  “This morning slipped or your words?”

  “Both.” I took a giant bite out of my pizza and wiped my mouth with the napkin she handed me. “All right,” I chewed and swallowed. “How about you share pizza, and I share soda?”

  She seemed to think about it for a minute, then held out her hand. “I accept.”

  I shook her hand and had an instant flash of the way it had wrapped around me in the shower, about the moans I’d evoked a little later with my tongue.

  I quickly dropped her hand like dead weight, reminding myself that I was there as a stand-in brother and friend, not as a guy who wanted to get laid as soon as possible.

  “What kind?”

  Her eyelashes fluttered like she was confused. “What?”

  “Soda, what kind?”

  “It’s pop, and I want Diet Coke.”

  I groaned. “It’s soda.”

  “Pop.”