Unfriend Me: A Small Town Best Friends to Lovers Romantic Comedy (Jobs From Hell Book 3)

by Marika Ray

  I knew better than to get between Amelia and any of her sisters. I’d done that once, and I’d learned my lesson. Our freshman year of high school, Amelia wanted me to teach her how to ride a skateboard so she could—in her words—be a cool skater girl. Esme heard the commotion, came outside, and asked me to show her too. Amelia, not one to ever share the spotlight, which was an uphill battle with four sisters, told her to take a flying leap. I couldn’t handle the tears in Esme’s eyes, so I promised her I would teach her. Amelia frowned, but didn’t say anything about me going against her wishes. As soon as my back was to her on my skateboard, she shoved me so hard I went flying into her dad’s police cruiser, denting the door. With visions of being handcuffed and taken to jail, I had to go into her house and tell him what I’d done, scared the whole time he’d forbid me from being friends with Amelia. I didn’t tell him it was Amelia’s fault, which was the only reason Amelia forgave me. Pretty sure that was the day the chief began to keep an eye on me like I was trouble. After that incident, I stayed far away from sister arguments.

  Vee scoffed, moving away from me with a look that could kill aimed at Amelia. “Fine. Lukas is looking extra yummy tonight. I’ll go find friendlier pastures.” With a huff, she was gone, making a beeline for poor, unsuspecting Lukas. Vee was gorgeous, as were all the Waldo sisters, but she was also crafty. She hid behind a dumb-blonde façade when she was anything but.

  “At first, I thought it was pretty cool to have our own wild peacock, but have you seen how much those things poop?” Finnie’s comment caught my attention.

  Amelia stiffened next to me, her head popping off my shoulder. “Hey, wait! I think I saw that peacock at Lenora’s wedding!”

  “Really, where?” Lenora leaned forward, intrigued that they’d had a peacock guest.

  “He was outside, just coming out of the line of trees. He scared the shit out of me when he spread his feathers.”

  Everyone laughed, imagining Amelia scared of a peacock.

  “You know they’re a symbol of integrity and the beauty we can achieve when we show our true colors. It’s an honor when they fan their tail feathers at you.” Charlie, a new friend of ours, was a woodworker who leaned heavily into the hippie lifestyle.

  “I don’t know, that seems like a lot of woo-woo nonsense. No offense, Charlie,” Amelia answered.

  “Why do people always do that? They say something offensive and tack on the ‘no offense’ like that makes it all good.” Lucy ripped into Amelia, which had me sitting up straighter. I knew Lucy was just teasing, but it still made me mad.

  “People say it when they want to speak the truth, but also care about other people’s feelings,” I added, my jaw tight.

  “I actually add the opposite to my sentences. I say ‘offense meant’ and everybody just laughs. You might try going with that one instead.” Bain smirked and I imagined he probably did piss off a lot of people with his penchant for speaking baldly. He could be a grumpy son of a bitch, but everybody loved him.

  Rip joined the circle without a word, sitting down on the other side of Amelia. The rest of the crew kept debating the merits of speaking the truth even when it wasn’t received well and also the ethics of pushing out a wild peacock from your land. I shook my head and chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” Amelia asked in a low voice meant just for me.

  I looked down at her, seeing the ways her face had changed over the years. “When did we get old? We used to sit around this fire and talk about cars, who was dating who, and what pranks we hadn’t gotten caught for yet. Not wildlife conservation and the merits of choosing our words carefully.”

  She laughed with me. “I guess things have changed. We’ve changed. Sometimes it happens so slowly we don’t even recognize it until something wakes us up. Which is why I’m glad I started my phoenix tattoo. All that shit with Daire woke me up, and as weird as it is to say, I’m grateful for it.”

  The mention of that asshole made my blood boil, but I could see she was over him. Truly and completely. And if that’s what it took to wake her up to how a man should treat her—namely me—then I was begrudgingly grateful too. My Amelia always had a hard head. It took drastic measures to get her to change her mind about something.

  I ran my hand up and down her back, happy to have her by my side again. The whole year without her had been torture. She made me come alive in a way I couldn’t replicate without her. I’d tried. Trust me. But it was like I wasn’t a complete human without her. Like the most essential part of me was missing when she was gone.

  “I’m happy to have you back, Lia.” It was all I could get past my lips without spilling everything I felt inside. I still planned to make my move tonight, but it wouldn’t be in front of every single one of our friends and all her sisters.

  “Speaking of happy, did my picture do the trick to distract you last night?” She nudged me, wisps of dark hair flying around her face in the ocean breeze and making me want to tuck it behind her ear.

  A surge of lust so great I almost had to adjust myself coursed through my body. “Um, yeah. That definitely worked.”

  She grinned, but it faded quickly to be replaced by a serious set of her eyebrows. “I’m sorry about your brother. Seems like he’s never going to change his ways.”

  I nodded, instantly subdued by the mention of Dom. “When I picked him up, I told him I wouldn’t bail him out anymore. I don’t know if he believed me, but I just can’t continue like this. Two or three times every single month I get a call from someone, lately Bain down at the jail.”

  Amelia nuzzled into my side and kissed my neck, a move meant to impart sympathy. A bolt of electricity ran through me at her intimate touch and I took a lot more than sympathy from her lips touching my skin.

  “So, are you two back to being friends again, I assume?” Lenora’s sweet voice cut through whatever moment Amelia and I were having.

  I lifted my head and flashed her a smile. “Most definitely.” What I didn’t divulge was that I intended to add a whole lot more than just friendship to the equation.

  Amelia laughed, the sound music to my ears. “Yeah. He agreed not to introduce me to any more douchebags, so I let him be my friend again.”

  Lenora jumped up and hugged us both before sitting back down all smiles. “I knew you’d come to your senses eventually.”

  “Thank God. That guy was seriously annoying,” Lucy piped in.

  “But hot, you gotta give him that,” Hazel said wryly.

  I shook my head, not understanding how girls could think a guy was still hot, even after he treated women so poorly.

  “It’s that bad-boy image, you know? Girls think they can tame him and make him change his ways,” Lenora said. Jayden made a face and looked at me, mirroring my own feelings on the subject.

  “So, how are your parents doing, Rip?”

  I tuned quickly back to Amelia, seeing her focus entirely on Rip. He shrugged and mumbled an answer I couldn’t catch.

  “Was your dad ever a rancher? Or like, is he into cattle?” Amelia asked again, spinning so she could see Rip clearly.

  What the hell was she going on about?

  “No, he grew up around here.” Rip frowned, just as confused by Amelia’s line of questioning.

  “This may seem a bit forward, but relationships intrigue me. How’s your parents’ relationship?”

  I stood quickly, reaching down to pull Amelia off the blanket. “Okay, time to get going. Got work in the morning.” I knew exactly what she was doing. She was trying to sniff out what was going on with the mayor.

  “Happy birthday, Hazel,” I called out over my shoulder as I pulled Amelia with me up the path to the cars parked above.

  “But—hey!” Amelia started flailing and I let her go. “I’m not ready to leave yet.” She put her hands on her hips, eyes flashing in the moonlight.

  I put my hands on my hips too. “And I’m not ready to see you question poor Rip when he’s got nothing to do with his dad’s behavior.”

>   “But he might know something!”

  God, she was beautiful. And fierce. And defiant. And literally everything I’d ever wanted in a partner.

  I cupped her face gently, like one would with a wild animal that might dart away at the first sign of trouble.

  “Babe. Rip has a really rough past with his father and has worked hard to separate himself. Don’t bring him into this investigation of yours. I beg you.”

  Amelia took a couple deep breaths, continuing to hold my gaze as we stood there in the middle of the dark.

  “Fine. I’ll cut it out, but only because you begged.” Her expression cleared and now her eyes danced with the knowledge that I’d begged her for something.

  Everything she was punched me in the gut with a want so badly I couldn’t breathe.

  I had to kiss her.

  I couldn’t bear to go one second longer in this life without learning what her lips felt like under mine. If she tasted as sweet and spicy as she talked. If her passion bled through to her kisses too. I leaned down, the action so natural I wondered why I’d never done it before. Her gaze slipped down to my mouth and I knew she was right there with me.

  10

  Titus

  Amelia’s long eyelashes fluttered before her eyes finally shut, her head tilting back to give me the access I wanted—no—needed. As much as I wanted to slam my lips on hers and indulge in everything I’d been missing all these years, I also wanted to savor the moment. Sixteen long years of dreaming about this moment couldn’t be rushed.

  My lips had just caressed hers in the barest of touches when a loud noise in the brush to the right of us had our eyes flying open. My first thought was that a fuckin’ mountain lion could be standing there and I would still go back to kissing Amelia. But her body stiffened and I knew the moment was shattered. Disappointment of a magnitude I didn’t know was possible to withstand nearly buckled my knees.

  “Stop throwing rocks. I know that’s you behind me, dumbass.” Lucy’s voice floated over to us from lower on the trail, her irritation at most likely Bain loud and clear. “You always think you’ll scare me, even though you do this every time.”

  Amelia inhaled sharply and stepped back, spinning and nearly jogging up the rest of the path to my truck. My hands floated back to my sides, empty and cold, watching her go. Lucy and Bain must be leaving the campfire early too, probably because little Roxy was home with a babysitter.

  In a flash of anger at their untimely interruption, I reached down and grabbed a rock, cocking my arm back to throw it at Bain in payback as he came up the hill, but I held back at the last second. Lucy was probably in front and I didn’t want to hit her. She hadn’t done anything wrong, and acting in anger wasn’t my style. Even though I agreed with Lucy’s assessment of Bain being a dumbass. Fucker interrupted what would have been a life-changing kiss.

  Instead, I dropped the rock and ran after Amelia. When I got to the top of the cliff, she was already in my truck, facing forward, unnaturally still. Alarm bells sounded in my head. She probably regretted what almost happened and was now retreating in true Amelia fashion. She was more stubborn than a donkey. I had my work cut out for me. But then again, I always did when it came to Amelia.

  “Dammit,” I muttered, then opened my door and climbed in.

  I started the truck and pulled out onto the road. Clearing my throat, I did what worked best. Reverse psychology in the form of teasing. “Wow, that was a close call. I almost kissed you and that would have been really, really disgusting.”

  Amelia spun on me with the speed of an attacking puma. “Hey! You would have enjoyed that kiss. Believe me.” She whacked me in the arm as I chuckled.

  “I don’t know. You remember Bobby freshman year? I don’t think he’d vouch for you.”

  Amelia crossed her arms over her chest and harrumphed. “Come on. That was my first kiss, and to be fair, Bobby had a ridiculous amount of metal braces to overcome.”

  I tossed my head back and laughed. “I know. I was always amazed you chose him for your first kiss. Thought maybe you were challenging yourself or something.”

  Amelia’s lips twitched in a barely there smile. “I’ll have you know my kissing skills have improved dramatically since then.”

  My heart sped up. “I could take your word for it…or you could show me.”

  She side-eyed me, seeing if I was serious. My teeth were clenched so hard I was sure to pull a jaw muscle. “Maybe I will…” Her voice was soft, not teasing any longer.

  Her phone rang, splitting the charged silence. Because of course it would. Every time Amelia and I got close to crossing that line of friendship, something interrupted us. I’d have to kidnap her and rent a cabin somewhere deep in the woods to get some goddamn alone time with her for all the things I wanted to do to her.

  Her phone screen shined bright in the dark cab of my truck. She silenced it, but not before I caught a glance at the caller ID.

  Daire.

  “What the fuck is he doing calling you?” I asked before I could check myself. Yelling at her wasn’t going to help anything.

  She shrugged and put the phone in the back pocket of her shorts. “Who knows?”

  “Does he call you often?” I kept asking questions like my mouth wasn’t connected to my brain.

  “No. This is the first time I’ve heard from him since he texted me back the day I broke up with him. Not that it’s any of your business.” Amelia lifted her nose in the air and looked out the windshield.

  “Amelia. You’re my best friend. Who just got out of a rough relationship. If he’s bothering you, it’s most certainly my business.”

  Anger burned a hole in my stomach. There was no way in hell I’d let that asshole worm his way back into her life and mess things up again. I pulled into the back parking lot of the hotel where the staff parked. When I put it in park, I realized Amelia was still staring out the window, completely silent.

  My heart sank and I wanted to punch myself in the face. Here I was questioning her to serve my own agenda when she was obviously upset that he’d made contact with her again.

  “Lia?” I asked softly.

  She blinked and spun to face me. “Huh?”

  “You okay, sweetheart?” Finally. The question I should have asked before. I was such an idiot.

  She smiled slowly, the one she saved for when she was being genuine and serious. “Yeah. I think I am. It threw me for a second when I saw his name, but I realized it wasn’t because I missed him or our time together. It was more of a flinch reaction to someone I just don’t care for at all.”

  I blew out the breath I’d been holding without realizing it. My hand, the one that was on the back of the seat, played with a strand of her hair. “No taking him back, huh?”

  Amelia wrinkled her nose. “God, no.”

  “Thank fuck,” I muttered.

  Without wasting a single second, I reached over and pulled her against me, laying my lips on hers before someone or something could interrupt us again. Her mouth froze for a second and then melted under mine, tasting and testing. Her tongue darted out to flick my lower lip and my head nearly floated off my neck. I dove in even as she climbed onto my lap like she knew how all my daydreams started. Her legs straddled my waist and she sat down, finding out instantly I wanted her far more than a friend should. There was no way to hide what I was feeling, and for once in my life, I wasn’t going to try. I was going to ride this wave of elation until Amelia told me to stop.

  She let out a soft groan and ran her hands into my hair, causing goose bumps to take up residence on every inch of my skin. She pulled hard on my hair as our tongues wrestled for dominance. Funny thing was, I’d let her dominate me all she wanted if this was the result. My hands traveled up her back, then down again before making the upward climb toward her breasts. She could own this kiss, but I’d own her body. I’d spent years darting careful glances at her growing breasts. The adolescent boy had been fascinated; the grown man was reverent.

  My thumbs
brushed the swell of her breasts and she rolled her hips. I cupped their weight in my palms and she nipped at my bottom lip. My cock surged in my jeans, causing a pain so great I finally understood the appeal of mixing pleasure with pain. I’d enjoyed some kisses before but never like this. Kissing Amelia felt like I might die if I had to stop.

  “Touch me, Titus,” she moaned, breaking the kiss to gasp.

  I nearly came in my pants and I was pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head, such was the pleasure I got from hearing my name spoken by Amelia in that breathy, desperate tone. She didn’t have to tell me twice.

  Dropping my hands, she made a soft noise of displeasure, which turned into another breathy moan when my hands dove under her sweatshirt and cupped her breasts beneath her bra. I shivered, realizing I was finally touching Amelia’s naked breasts.

  My thumbs found her nipples already peaked and aching for my touch. I kissed my way down her neck, inhaling her unique scent, the one that had stayed the same over the years even with changes in perfumes. I strummed her nipples. She yanked my head back to slam her lips down on mine, rubbing her pelvis against my lap and stoking a fire you could only find in Hell. The girl was aggressive as shit and I loved every fuckin’ second of it.

  Time passed, windows fogged, and still my girl rode my cock through layers of denim we both weren’t ready to strip off. We were twenty-eight years old and yet we made out like teenagers past curfew. I could have suggested we go back to her room, but as crazy as it sounded in my own head, I wanted to take it slow. I wanted to hit every base before stealing home. Needed every teenage memory I didn’t get with Amelia to come true now.

  Amelia was making some intense sounds that had me right on the edge, willing to mess up my jeans just to hear her orgasm.

  A loud pecking noise on the driver’s window had our heads lifting. We couldn’t see out, due to the moisture on the windows, but it happened again. Someone, or something, was out there.

  “What the hell is that?” Amelia’s lips were red and swollen and so fucking sexy I couldn’t be bothered with whatever was out there. It couldn’t possibly be as fascinating as what was inside this truck.