The Do-Over (The Rooftop Crew Book 5)

by Piper Rayne

  The waitress eyes me and smiles. “I’ll bring you what I drink.” She picks up the beer. “And you? Another?”

  “Water.” I nod and position my dart.

  The second game, we end up almost tied, but she falls short on the last dart. She’s so busy sipping her drink that the waitress gave her, I’m not sure she cares.

  “Final game,” I say.

  She hops off the stool and shoves me lightly with her hand. “Loser first, so that’s me.”

  I sip my water bottle and watch her get into position. She wiggles her ass and her lips purse. Fuck me. I’m fighting to live with this girl? I’m going to be walking around with a hard-on every damn day.

  We near the end of the game and she’s ahead of me. I could play this cool, but the arrogant guy in me wants to show off a little. I throw it and it lands on the bull’s-eye.

  “Knox!” she yells and points. “You got a bull’s-eye!”

  I look at her with a cheesy grin on my face. “I did, which means…”

  Her eyes turn to slits and she pokes me in my chest. “Did you just hustle me?”

  I raise my hands. “No.”

  “Hmm… I’m not sure I believe you, but you won, so I stay.”

  Relief falls over her face and shoulders. We’ve all been where she is, so I don’t say anything.

  We return the darts to the board and go back to our stools.

  “Now tell me about this T-shirt business. Is that one?” I point at the shirt she’s wearing.

  She looks down at her T-shirt that reads “I Don’t Eat My Friends” and has a picture of a cow, pig, and chicken on it. “It is.”

  “You ate eggs,” I say, remembering the omelet.

  “I eat eggs. It’s just animals that are slaughtered that I don’t eat.”

  “I have to warn you, Jax and I are big burger guys.”

  “Well, maybe I can introduce you two to some other options.”

  This is going to be a problem—I’m actually excited about what she’s going to introduce me to. Excited to come home from work and have her there. Excited to be able to talk to her whenever I want. Why didn’t I throw the dart game? She’s going to mess up my life. But right now, I don’t even care.

  Chapter Eleven

  Kamea

  I wake up the next morning and figure Knox must still be sleeping because he said he was off. I’m at the breakfast bar, sipping my coffee and designing new T-shirts—because I’m going to have to continue doing small orders until I can accumulate enough money for another bulk buy—when a door opens and my creative bubble is popped. I’m not sure whether it’s Knox or Jax until the footsteps go to the bathroom, the door doesn’t shut, and I hear someone peeing.

  “You need to shut the door,” I say when Jax comes out after washing his hands. At least he has on a white T-shirt and sweatpants instead of only his boxer briefs.

  “Sorry, this one time I was jumped in a bathroom.”

  “Seriously?” I place my coffee down.

  He shakes his head. “No. I’m just lazy.” He grabs a mug and fills it with the coffee I prepared this morning. “What are you doing?”

  “Nothing much.”

  He peeks over my shoulder. “‘Meat sucks’?” His eyebrows furrow. “Are you into girls?”

  I laugh and roll my eyes. “No. I’m a vegetarian.”

  “Damn.” He runs his hand through his hair. “I was thinking we hit the jackpot for a moment.”

  “Did you think if I was a lesbian, I’d have regular make-out sessions on the couch and you’d be able to beat off to us while we go down on one another?”

  “I hoped, but you crushed that dream.” He sips his coffee and waves his hand. “So explain then?”

  “I’m a vegetarian, and I design T-shirts for vegetarians.”

  He nods. “Clever. What else do you have?” He grabs the edge of the computer and slides it to face him. “‘Grass Fed.’” He scrolls. “‘Bitch, Peas.’” He chuckles. “So this is the T-shirt thing, huh?” He pushes the computer back my way.

  “Yeah.”

  “And she ruined it for you?”

  I shrug. “I’ll be fine eventually. I just have to work a little harder. I’ll make more on the T-shirts when I can do a bulk order to get the cost per unit down, which was what I had planned for the money I spent on her bail. This way, I design them and someone else prints each one as it’s ordered. There’s a higher cost.”

  “So you can design any shirt and anyone can buy them?” He seems oddly interested.

  “Yeah.”

  “If I wanted you to design one for my clients, could you?”

  “Like for them to purchase?”

  “I think I’ll just give them out as gifts.”

  “Good business plan. What were you thinking?”

  He looks up. “Let me think about it. Could you do it if I paid you for it?”

  I stand to fill my coffee mug. “I don’t want any charity.”

  “It’s not charity. I’m going to profit from it.”

  “Profit?”

  “Not money. Just pissing off a certain someone.” For a moment his head is tipped back and he’s smiling as though it’s the best idea and he can’t wait to pull off the prank.

  Knox coming out of his bedroom interrupts us. He smiles at me, walking to the bathroom in only a pair of shorts. Damn, he’s built. Abs ripple down his front and his ass makes me want to take a bite of it like an apple. The door shuts and I’m startled back to reality.

  Jax laughs. “You’ve got some drool right there.” He touches the corner of his mouth.

  My face heats. “Shut up.”

  “You guys were out late last night. I expect a phone call from now on.”

  I roll my eyes and head back to my computer. Knox comes out of the bathroom and disappears into his bedroom for a second before coming back out to join us. When he passes me, I see he’s put on a T-shirt—and I want to throw myself on the floor and have a fit like a toddler.

  “Thanks for making the coffee,” Knox says to me, pouring some into a mug then taking a sip.

  “How do you know she made it? Maybe I did,” Jax says.

  “Because it tastes good.” Knox sips from his mug again. “You coming or what?”

  Jax groans. “Why don’t you fools take a day off? It’s Sunday.”

  “You don’t have to come.” Knox shrugs.

  My head volleys between them as Jax stands. “Fucking hell. I’m going.”

  Knox smiles. “All the guys are on this workout regime. Our non-single friends think they’re getting guts. We’re headed over to Adrian and Sierra’s.”

  I hear a key in the door, and it opens, revealing a guy I haven’t met yet.

  Knox places his mug on the counter. “Give it to me,” he says, holding out his hand.

  “Don’t you want me to have it in case of an emergency? What if our place is on fire? Or some crazy chick is here about to cut off your dick?” The dark-haired guy spots me in his peripheral and turns away from Knox. “Hey, I’m Seth and you are?” He sticks out his hand and I shake it.

  “Seth, this is—”

  “I didn’t ask you,” he says to Knox.

  “Sorry,” Knox says and fills a water bottle.

  “Kamea,” I say.

  “Kamea? Is that Polynesian?”

  “It is.”

  He shakes my hand the entire conversation.

  Obviously, Seth knew Leilani based on the way he’s looking me over. “Hmm…”

  “She knows Leilani,” Knox says.

  Seth leans back on a stool. He’s dressed in track pants and a sweatshirt. “Oh, I know. Rumors spread around here faster than TMZ.”

  “How did you find out?” Knox asks.

  I’m actually happy Seth knows and I don’t have to retell the entire story again.

  “Group text.” His head falls back. “That reminds me. I have something for you.” He pulls a note out of his hoodie. “The girls were talking about you this morning.”


  That one sentence ignites a rupture so sour in my stomach, I fear I might throw up all over this counter.

  He hands me the note. “This is from my girl, Evan.” He winks.

  “Seth just got a girlfriend. He’s like an adolescent boy now who can’t believe he can get laid whenever he wants.”

  I laugh at Knox as Seth flips him off.

  I unfold the note and read the girly script.

  We’re going to brunch today while the guys go workout. We’ll be knocking on your door at ten to pick you up. Nothing fancy. ☺

  Knox is studying me, and although I somehow feel close to him because I met him years ago, it’s weird that his friends are so willing to welcome me. I could be gone tomorrow.

  “The girls invited your girl to lunch.” Seth smacks Knox’s back.

  Jax comes out of his bedroom.

  Knox doesn’t clarify that I’m not his girl, but I get the impression it’s more because Seth doesn’t seem like the type of guy who cares what Knox says. He’ll say what he wants anyway.

  The guys grab bags as Dylan and another guy, Ethan, come to the door and wait in the hallway, each of them waving hello to me.

  Knox hangs back as the rest razz each other about how much weight they’ve gained. “You should go. You’ll have fun.” He glances over his shoulder at the guys and pulls his wallet out of his gym bag. “Do you need money?”

  Humiliation must cast over my face. I feel as if I’m a child and he’s my father. “No. I’m good, but thank you.”

  He puts his wallet away quickly, as though he’d like to forget it happened. “I didn’t mean to offend you.”

  I shake my head because why wouldn’t he think I don’t have money? I don’t. But I do have credit cards, and although my savings has taken a huge hit, I can pay for a brunch. “Thank you for the offer.”

  He nods and leaves, locking me in the apartment just as he did the first night.

  I stare at the note.

  Oh, what the hell. I haven’t had brunch in a long time, plus as sad as I might sound, I wouldn’t mind finding out more information about Knox and exactly how over Leilani he really is.

  When I open the door at ten, three girls stand in the hallway. Rian, who I already met; Evan, with her long dark curly hair; and Blanca, who’s so cute and petite she looks as if she could fit in my pocket.

  After the introductions are over, we walk into the downtown part of Cliffton Heights, where the gazebo and park are nestled inside a rectangle full of shops and restaurants. Rian and Blanca walk ahead and discuss the guys and their ridiculous self-consciousness about gaining weight, while Evan stays back with me.

  “So I heard something about you and T-shirts?”

  I glance over, and Evan’s warm smile makes me comfortable sharing with her. “Yeah, at first it was a quick way to make cash to supplement my income at the country club, but then people would send pictures of them wearing my T-shirts and their smiles just kind of sold me. So here I am.”

  Her grin is genuine. “That’s awesome. I could moan about how long it took me to figure out what I love to do. I think I’m there now.”

  “What do you do?”

  “She makes cream cheese.” Rian glances back at us. “The best cream cheese in the world, and she sells it to bakeries even though if I could secure her all to myself, I would. But she’s too pricey.”

  Evan rolls her eyes at Rian, but from the happiness splashed on Evan’s face, she likes to hear the compliments. I don’t blame her.

  We reach the doors of The Backyard, which I know is well-known for their amazing patio during the warmer times of the year. I’ve never eaten here, but I hear people talk about it. We file in and shrug off our coats. A tall redhead stands and waves from a big booth in the corner.

  “There’s Sierra,” Blanca says, and she leads the way for all of us to follow.

  They each hug Sierra and say hello. She’s dressed nicer than the rest of us in a pantsuit, while the rest of us are in leggings or jeans with sweaters. She’s gorgeous, and I swear her skin actually glows. Then it dawns on me that she’s Sierra Sanders from the news.

  As the realization dawns on me, she looks at me. “And you’re Kamea, right?”

  “Yeah.”

  Sierra pulls me into a hug, and from the other girls’ slack jaws and shared expressions, I figure this isn’t something she usually does. “It’s great to meet you. I’m Sierra.”

  I slide in next to Evan, and we all unwrap our silverware and place our napkins in our laps.

  “Sierra is with Adrian, who is a prince,” Blanca says.

  “For now,” Sierra corrects. “Once his brother is old enough, he’ll abdicate the throne. His sister runs the country now.”

  I nod, remembering hearing about that years ago.

  “I’d much rather hear the gossip with you guys,” Sierra says as a round of mimosas are brought over by the waitress. “And I already ordered the first round.” She raises her glass. “To new friends.” She winks at me. “And of course, our upcoming bride.”

  Blanca blushes, and we all clink our glasses and sip our drinks.

  “You’re getting married?” I ask Blanca.

  “Yeah. Early next year.”

  “Oh, fun.”

  “You’ll probably be there,” Sierra says. When all the girls’ heads whip in her direction, she shrugs. “Who else would Knox bring?”

  No one says anything, but Sierra sips her mimosa and eyes me over the rim. I want to shift my gaze away, but I don’t because that shows weakness.

  “How close are you to Leilani?” Sierra asks.

  And I’m quickly aware that maybe my invite to brunch wasn’t about getting to know me, but more about how a set of protective sisters might interrogate the new girl in their brother’s life.

  Chapter Twelve

  Knox

  Adrian and Sierra live across the street from the Rooftop Apartments, where the rest of us live because we’re not princes with a shitload of money. After working out in his building’s top-notch gym, we head upstairs to their apartment, where Adrian makes us protein smoothies. The man has the self-control of a monk.

  We sit around their table that overlooks the street and our apartment building.

  “Let’s talk about Knox’s new girl.” Leave it to Seth to bring up Kamea.

  “Let’s not.” I tip back my water bottle, but all their eyes are on me when I lower my head back down.

  “She’s not Leilani, that’s for sure,” Jax says, standing and refilling his water bottle. “She’s cool as fuck, and if you don’t screw her, maybe I will.” He winks.

  Dylan sighs and rolls his eyes. Jax is one of my best friends, and when he first returned to town after years away, he screwed with Dylan to force him to finally make a move on Rian. It turned out great since they’re engaged and all now. But Jax better not be thinking of pulling the same shit with me.

  “How about neither of us screw our new roommate?” I say. “Besides, you ready to lose that bet to Frankie yet?”

  Jax narrows his eyes at me.

  “So she’s the new roommate, huh?” Ethan asks, journalistic curiosity in his eyes.

  “She’s got nowhere else to go,” Jax says, sitting back down at the table.

  “There are shelters and stuff. You don’t have to be her saviors.” Ethan eyes us as though he doesn’t know how we’ll take that piece of advice.

  He’s right. Kamea isn’t our problem.

  Dylan laughs and throws a balled-up napkin at Ethan. “Do you know Knox at all?”

  Ethan shrugs. “I get the whole cop thing. But what about you, Jax?”

  Our friends all know that the three of us grew up poor as fuck. Ethan didn’t grow up with a silver spoon either. But Seth’s family is middle class and they’re close. And I’m not even gonna mention Adrian, who probably has safes and vaults full of valuables.

  “Jax puts on a great act, but he has a savior complex too.” Dylan smacks Jax on the back and picks up a smoothie fro
m the counter as Adrian pours the last round.

  “Don’t go spreading rumors about me,” Jax says to Dylan, but smiling at me. The three of us know more than we should about each other.

  “The real question is, are Knox and Kamea sitting in a tree?” Seth sips out of his straw, his eyes on me.

  I shake my head.

  “Why?” he asks. “I saw the look you gave her earlier.”

  “She is hot,” Dylan admits.

  I’m surprised. I honestly thought the guy had been blind to any attractive female since he got together with Rian. I shrug, not having an answer.

  “Come on. Why not?”

  Seth knows me too well, which comes from being my roommate for so many years. He could tell from the minute I came out of my bedroom with a girl whether I was interested in her or not. Kamea is not only my type physically, but her personality is so opposite of any other woman I’ve dated that I’m intrigued. And Seth sees right through me.

  “She’s friends with Leilani,” I say. “I picked Leilani over her at a bar ages ago. But the biggest reason why not is that she’s down on her luck right now.”

  Silence falls over the table.

  “Why does that matter?” Dylan finally asks.

  I sip my smoothie to buy time. Our group of friends aren’t really judgmental people. We might razz one another, but these guys generally know when humor is appropriate. Well, all of us but Seth probably.

  So I say, “Because being the knight who saves or tries to save a woman hasn’t really worked out well for me over the years. She’d come to resent me at some point just like…”

  “Fucking A, she did a number on you.” Jax leans back, shaking his head.

  Jax wasn’t really around for the whole Leilani thing except for the last part of the final time we were together. He saw the aftermath, and I think it scared him away even more from relationships. I was in bad shape.

  “Sue me if I don’t want to feel that shit again.” I shrug.