by Piper Rayne
She giggles as we head toward the apartments. “Yeah, that’s what us poor folk do.”
“I’m poor now too.”
“You’re temporarily poor.”
I shrug. She’s right, I suppose. Maybe Rowan is right, and I should get a job and take advantage of this opportunity.
We pass a storefront with a Help Wanted sign on the door. Stopping, I place the box next to the door and my hand moves to the handle.
“Are you hungry?” she asks, and I look up to see it says the Bagel Place. “Because Seth—”
I open the door and walk into the small cafe-type restaurant. A few tables are filled with families and couples.
A woman with dark hair comes out and wipes her floured hands on her apron. “How can I help you? We’re mostly out of everything, but I’m making some more if you’d like to wait.”
“Adrian,” Blanca says from behind me.
“Hey, Blanca,” the woman who works here says. “I haven’t seen you in a while.”
Blanca’s cheeks pinken. “Oh, I’ve been swamped and haven’t had time to stop for a bagel.”
“I get you. I’ve been living off bagels for the last week. We had two people leave us this week. I’m desperate.”
Desperate is good. “I’d like to apply for the job,” I say.
Her gaze falls over my body. Maybe I should’ve stayed in my I Heart New York shirt. She looks skeptical.
“Evan, this is Adrian. He just moved in down the hall from me.”
The woman puts out her hand. “Do you have any work experience?”
“None.”
She looks at Blanca at my side, and the two appear to have some sort of conversation without words. “You’re hired.”
Chapter Eleven
Sierra
“Blue Bloods night!” Dylan walks into our apartment unannounced with a pizza in hand.
Before the door closes, I hear Adrian’s voice in the hallway.
“Was that Adrian?” I ask him.
“Yeah, he and Blanca were just coming in.”
I stand. Rian’s face tells me to let it go, it’s nothing, but unease washes over me. “I’m going to see if they want to join us.”
“You know Blanca still has to catch up,” Rian says.
Blanca hasn’t joined us to watch Blue Bloods because she keeps saying she wants to catch up from the beginning. But there’s nothing wrong with a friendly visit to ask her if she wants to join us though, right?
Blanca and Ethan’s door is open when I reach their apartment. Inside, Ethan’s talking to Adrian, so I stop to listen for a minute.
“Babe, why didn’t you call me?” Ethan asks Blanca.
“Because I had it,” she says.
“She’s too proud to ever ask for help,” Ethan says.
Both men laugh.
“Happy to help,” Adrian says.
“Adrian found a job,” Blanca says from somewhere deep in the apartment.
A job? I hadn’t thought of what he would do, but for some reason, a job never occurred to me.
“That’s great. Where at?” Ethan asks.
“The Bagel Place.”
Shit.
“Oh shit. Babe? The Bagel Place?”
Ethan’s worried tone is right on the mark. Why would Blanca allow him to get a job at Seth’s family’s archnemesis?
“I figure it’s only two months, and Evan was desperate for help.”
“You’re on a first-name basis with her?” Ethan asks.
Yeah, how did I miss that one too?
“I thought we talked about this,” Ethan says.
Now I’m too curious to just eavesdrop. I have questions to ask and answers to find out, so I step out of the hallway into the doorway of their apartment.
Ethan does a double-take. “Hey, Sierra.”
“Did I hear you got a job?” I pose my question to Adrian.
Ethan laughs, probably knowing I was eavesdropping and heads into their small galley kitchen. “Beer?”
“Sure,” Adrian answers.
“Nah. Blue Bloods is starting,” I tell Ethan.
“I promised to wait for Blanca to catch up before I watch any more.”
Ugh. Of course he did.
“What about you, Adrian? Want to watch Blue Bloods?” I ask.
“Is that a show?” He accepts a beer from Ethan, quickly taking a sip.
“Yeah, we watch every Sunday,” I say.
“Donnie Wahlberg is in it,” Ethan says as though that should be clear enough.
“The boy band guy?” Adrian asks.
“That’s the one.” Ethan tips back his own beer to draw a sip.
“I think I’ll pass.”
“Blanca and I are heading up to the roof tonight. You’re welcome to join us.”
Adrian shakes his head. “I wouldn’t want to impose on your date night.”
Ethan laughs. “You’re not imposing. We work together, man. Which means we commute together and now we live together.” His eyes widen with the admission as though it’s too much time together.
I punch him in the shoulder.
“Ow. What the hell?” Ethan gives me a dirty look.
“Don’t disrespect my girl like that,” I say.
Adrian turns his head in surprise. “That was all bullshit?”
“Yeah, sorry. I was just trying to make you not feel like the third wheel because you’re new here and they’re all going to watch a television show that’s in its seventh season.”
“Oh.” My cheeks redden that my overprotectiveness shined through in front of Adrian.
Adrian laughs. “Let me buy the pizza.”
Ethan nods. “Sure.”
“No. We have it.” Blanca comes out of the closet she’s been in this whole time. “You’re like a guest.”
“He moved in, so not a guest,” Ethan says, the cheapskate he is.
“Please, it’d be my pleasure.” Adrian smiles.
“See, babe, we can’t deny the man his pleasure.” Ethan puts his arm around her.
Blanca’s eyes fall to me with a heavily implied smirk and I have no time to stop her before she says, “I think he got a lot of pleasure last night. Right, Sierra?”
Ethan’s eyebrows raise and a flush heats Adrian’s face. I give her my best evil stare.
“Let’s go to the roof, man.” Ethan heads to the fridge and takes out a few more beers.
Adrian smiles at me, so I’m guessing he’s not mad. Which, why do I care? It’s not like we’re a secret or anything.
“I guess I’ll be on the rooftop,” Adrian tells me.
“Have fun.”
“Babe?” Ethan nods toward the door.
Blanca’s gaze stays on me and she lifts her finger. “One minute.”
Ethan shakes his head.
The minute the door closes after them, Blanca grabs my hand and pulls me to the couch. “Spill.”
“Spill what?”
“You know what! You guys obviously had sex. I knew you were bullshitting us earlier. You had sex with a prince!” She’s almost happier than I was.
Okay, not quite. The man knows how to please a woman—which only reminds me of how many women probably came before me. “And?”
“And he’s a prince. You owe me details.”
I raise my eyebrows. It feels kinda weird to talk to Blanca about my sex life now since it might lead to her talking about hers. With her dating my ex, I’m familiar with Ethan in the bedroom even if it makes me shake in disgust now. We’ve yet to share in that way since she and Ethan got together.
“Okay, you don’t owe me, but I know you and it’s killing you not to get it out.”
I bite my bottom lip. She’s right. I do want and need to talk to someone about this. How do I go from what I assumed would be a one-night stand with a prince to living with him?
“I have no idea how it happened. One minute he’s this slob who put no effort into getting ready for our evening together and then he’s showing me a few vulnerabili
ties. And we ran away from security—”
The apartment door opens without a knock.
“Blue Bloods, guys!” Rian yells but spots us on the couch and opens the door farther, stepping into the apartment. “What’s going on?” She sits on the floor at our feet.
“Sierra is giving me more details about her date with Adrian.” Blanca waggles her eyebrows.
Rian slides her ass closer, straightening her back like a good-mannered kid ready for storytime at the library.
“It wasn’t a fairy tale date, but…” I rehash the night—running from security, falling on the ice rink, the bar with Adrian’s fans, getting caught in the rain. Then I get into the really interesting parts and tell them about all the places we had sex—the shower, the bed, the dresser, and the bathroom countertop.
By the time I’m done with my story, they’re both staring at me with huge smiles.
“And then he decided he wanted to move in?” Rian asks.
“After he talked to his parents and they agreed to let him do what he wanted for two months, he had nowhere to go. We agreed that he’d give me an exclusive interview in exchange for living here for two months.”
Their smiles dim.
“So where does that leave you two?” Blanca asks.
“I have no idea.” I purposely keep a lightness in my tone as though I haven’t wondered the same thing all day.
“Are you going to be sleeping together? Because I just want to say public places are off-limits. No shower or bathroom countertops, okay?” Rian says.
Blanca and I laugh.
“I have no idea if last night was it or what. I mean, even if we do sleep together, it’s not like there can ever be a future. He’s a prince and has to go back to Sandsal in two months.”
They both stare at me.
“What?” I ask.
“Sierra.” Blanca takes my hand. “The man you’ve been following online and have been infatuated with is sleeping in the bedroom next to yours. You had sex multiple times with him last night. You can’t just live the next two months in the dark. Nor can you allow him to come and go from your bed without some kind of agreement between you guys.”
I slide my hands from hers, heading into the kitchen. “I’m not like you guys. I don’t expect to become princess and get my happy ever after. Is it crazy that I met him in person and even crazier that we slept together, and he asked to move in here? Sure, it’s like an out-of-body experience. I’m not sure it’s completely soaked in yet, but I’d never expect something serious from him.” I pull a bottle of wine from her fridge. “Cool if we open this?”
Blanca stands and Rian follows. “Of course. Opener is in the drawer by the dishwasher.”
As I open the bottle of wine, I’m aware of their silence. It weighs heavy on my shoulders. “Will you two stop worrying? Sometimes people just have fun. If we sleep together again, then great. If not, I’m cool.”
They look at one another then back at me. Blanca is more of a straight-shooter, so she takes charge. “You deserve more than that. Talk to him. Figure out where you stand, because in two months, you could end up devastated if you’re not careful.”
I pour a glass for each of them and slide them over the counter. “You guys are worried for nothing. It’s me. I can have sex with a guy and not become emotionally invested.”
Blanca sips her wine while Rian twirls her glass at the stem.
“But this is different,” Rian says. “This is Prince Adrian Marx of Sandsal. A guy you already had a thing for. Not some stranger from a club you’ll never see again.”
I pat her hand. “You guys know I can handle myself.”
They both release exasperated breaths.
“I think you should talk to him,” Blanca says.
The apartment door opens before I have to repeat my argument again.
“Hello! Blue Bloods. The pizza is getting cold.” Dylan peeks his head in but enters when he spots us all huddled together at the counter. “What’s the gossip, hens?”
“You’re always in on the gossip,” Rian jokes.
Dylan swings his arm around her shoulders, leaning in. “Are we talking about sex toys, masturbation, or porn?”
Rian pushes on his stomach. “None of the above.”
Dylan laughs, assuming we wouldn’t be talking about any of those things. He doesn’t need to know that girls have those conversations too.
“We’re talking about Sierra living in the dark,” Blanca says.
The attitude she’s copping is grating on my nerves now.
“What does that mean?” His forehead wrinkles for a second, then his head falls back. “Ah, the prince.”
“Yes, tell them, Dylan. You don’t have to sign a contract with someone before having sex with them.” I slip out from behind the counter to head to the couch. I’m positive the three of them are probably exchanging some look behind my back.
“Can’t do that,” Dylan says.
I whip my head around to find him sipping out of Rian’s glass. I narrow my eyes at him. “You are not a Boy Scout, Dylan.”
He passes the glass back to Rian then raises his hands. “I know and I never said I was, but I don’t bring my one-night stands home to live with me for two months either.”
“We made a deal. I get an exclusive interview. You know how huge that is for me? I mean, Kay is all up Jack’s ass and he’s going to give her the next anchor job. I get an interview with a prince who disappeared from his responsibilities for two months? Game changer.”
Kay and I started at the station at the same time. She does the weather and I’m a beat reporter, but we both want the anchor position. With Georgia retiring, Adrian’s interview could give me a leg up or make it more probable that another station might hire me.
“Hey, it’s none of my business,” Dylan says, “but I think it’s best for all if intentions are laid out on the table, so no one gets blindsided.”
Seth opens the apartment door and pops his head in. “Someone tell me why I’m sitting in an apartment all by myself with a pizza and a paused television?”
“We’re coming.” Rian stands to join him.
“I’m out for tonight. I’ll catch it later this week.” I sit on the sofa, taking into consideration all the advice being thrown my way.
Dylan is similar to me. The most serious relationship he’s ever had was with a dog he found on the street. I’ve never seen him so depressed as when the family came to pick him up.
Maybe he’s right though. I can’t live with the man who gave me the best sex of my life without making it clear that this is just a bit of fun. In two months, he’s free to go back to his life as a prince and I’ll be one step further in my career.
Chapter Twelve
Adrian
The rooftop has a table with six chairs, a few stools, lights hung from one edge of the roof to the other, and a grill in the corner next to a small garden that appears it was probably used in the summer months. One of those standing propane heaters near the seating area takes the edge off of the chill of the autumn night.
“Is the entire building welcome up here?” I ask.
Ethan slides a chair down and sits. I do the same.
“Technically yes, but it’s pretty much just ours. At least we seem to be the only ones who hang out up here.” He leans his head back and stares at the sky.
“What do you do?” I ask. I’d like to veer the conversation as far away from Sierra and him dating as I can.
“I’m a writer at a small magazine called Mars and Venus. Blanca and I write articles with opposing viewpoints.” He tips back his beer.
As I often do, I try to imagine myself in his shoes. A man who’s comfortable in his skin and his abilities. At least from what I can tell. “That’s a lot of time together.”
He stretches his legs out on the chair in front of him and laughs. “Yeah, but we’re not sick of one another yet. It’s funny, you know, how dissimilar different relationships can be.”
Oh shit, here
we go. He’s going to talk about his relationship with Sierra.
“I mean, when I moved in with Sierra, I felt suffocated, but I can spend all this time with Blanca and only want more. That’s not a dig on Sierra. I think she felt the same way. ‘Cause she can be…” He glances over, probably forgetting I just met Sierra. Other than knowing every inch of her body and the spots on her body that drive her insane with want, I don’t know her well. “Sorry, I shouldn’t have said anything.”
“No, it’s okay. I’m aware you guys had a relationship prior.”
He nods. “I’m not surprised she told you.”
“And why is that?”
He shrugs, taking another pull of his beer. “That’s Sierra. She’s straight-up and doesn’t keep a lot close to the vest. Actually.” He shakes his head. “That’s not true. She keeps a lot to herself if it has to do with her, but you never have to worry about what her opinion about something is.”
I consider what he’s saying, but an ex-boyfriend always has a different view of his ex-girlfriend post-breakup, so I push what he says to the back of my mind. I’ve never met exes who can co-exist without some bitterness.
I’m not sure if it’s my face or something else, but he raises his hands and shakes his head. “Forget that. Change of topic.”
Before he can say anything else, the door opens, and Blanca and Sierra join us. Ethan drops his legs and slides the chair closer to him while Blanca looks at him as though he’s the best boyfriend ever. What must that be like? To know someone loves you for you and not for what you represent?
Sierra slides out another chair and sits down. I should have stood and pulled out the chair for her. I do it for women I have no respect for. I should definitely do it for her.
“No television show?” I ask.
She shakes her head, her gaze falling to Blanca. “Not tonight. I’m not in the mood.”
I hook my hand on her chair and slide it closer to me. “Good.”
Then it’s me who gets the best boyfriend smile, but the difference is, I’m not her boyfriend.
“Hey, E, I have something to show you.” Blanca stands and holds her hand out for Ethan’s.
“Nothing bad can follow that sentence.” Ethan accepts her hand.
