Rumor Has It: The Complete Series

by Tucker, RH

  My jaw drops and I look over at Tara. Now she’s the one holding back a laugh.

  “My eyes? Cliché much? What’s next, you gonna tell me my hair is gorgeous?”

  “Well, now that you mention it—”

  “Her eyes are beautiful,” Taylor jumps in, sliding a chair over and sitting down next to me.

  I don’t have time to react, or even think for that matter. Seamlessly, his arm slides around me, nearly pulling me in his lap, and then his lips slam into mine. I might be upset about it, even if I think he’s doing it to help me out, but instantly I’m transported back to our night together. Remembering his taste. The feeling of his lips pressed against mine.

  His tongue barely swipes my lip, before he pulls away, brushing his mouth against my ear. “I’ve been watching you for twenty minutes. It’s been hilarious.”

  “I didn’t need your saving,” I whisper back to him.

  “No, you probably didn’t. But I couldn’t resist.” Finding my eyes again, he’s just about to go in for another kiss, when Ricky knocks on the table.

  “Yo, man, what the hell?”

  Keeping his arms around my waist, Taylor leans to the side, staring at him. His flirty, crooked grin is gone, and he stares at him with complete disregard. Like he’s the one in charge even though he just showed up. It’s freaking hot.

  “Can I help you with something?”

  Instead of answering him, Ricky glares at me with annoyance. “You have a boyfriend? What the hell?”

  His arrogant attitude, acting like I’m the one who’s done something wrong, kicks something on inside. “Excuse you. I told you we were just hanging out tonight. It’s girls’ night out. I was trying to be nice, even though you’ve been nothing but a pushy douchebag, buying us drink after drink, probably hoping for a quickie in the bathroom.”

  “This is bullshit.” He stands up from his chair, causing a loud screech to be heard.

  Without notice, Taylor slides me off and rises from his chair. Standing taller than Ricky, his navy blue T-shirt stretches across his chest, and he folds his arms. I see the little scars on his elbow and notice his forearm rippling. His chestnut brown hair sticks out in a beachhead look, and I remember running my fingers through it.

  Staring down Ricky, his voice drops lower as he asks, “Do we have a problem?”

  Ricky looks at me then back at him, shaking his head. “No problem. I was just leaving.”

  I don’t care if he’s acting like he’s marking his territory, I’m completely turned on right now.

  “You bitch,” Rita blurts out, her mouth open, with Tara covering her mouth, as she laughs. “It was nothing? This,” she waves at Taylor, who sits back down and looks at me in confusion, “is definitely not nothing.”

  I can only bite my lip, averting my gaze, feeling my face go flush.

  “What are you talking about?” Taylor sits back down, turning his attention to Rita.

  “We asked Little Miss Thing here about you, and she said it was nothing,” Rita answers, as Tara almost spits her drink out.

  “Rita!” I growl through a clenched jaw.

  “Is that right?” He looks over at me, one eyebrow raised, that cocky, crooked grin returning. My eyes are locked on Rita’s until he leans closer, his whispers returning to my ear. “Maybe someone needs a reminder of how great ‘nothing’ was.”

  I’m trying to stay as stoic and statue-like as I can. I promise you, I am. But that does nothing to help the flush I feel crawl over my cheeks.

  Both Rita and Tara stare at me. I don’t know if they heard him, but I’m positive they know what he’s talking about, and they both seem to be waiting for my response.

  “Um, Tara?”

  “Yeahhhh?” She elongates the word, grinning from ear to ear.

  “You, um … did you guys want to stay longer or …”

  Now they’re both holding back laughs.

  “I was thinking about leaving right now, myself,” Rita adds. “I can give you a ride home if you want, Tara.”

  I don’t have to imagine what Tara’s thinking, as she leans closer to Taylor, but stares at me. “Sure. Will you be okay alone, Sasha?” Her words are enunciated perfectly, as if she’s reading a line from a cue card.

  Bitch.

  “I’ll be fine,” I retort through a locked jaw.

  “I’m sure you will be.” Rita snickers.

  I stare down at the table, painfully aware of Taylor chuckling.

  * * *

  He doesn’t cuddle. He told me that our first night together.

  “There’s no time for cuddling,” he said, laughing that night.

  But his arm is wrapped around me right now like it was our first time, and he’s asleep. There’s obviously a front he’s dealing with. I’m not stupid. He’s got an issue, but I’m being willfully ignorant of it because I know whatever it is, it’s not an ex-girlfriend. So, whatever his hang-up is, I’m okay with this.

  It helps—or possibly it doesn’t help, I haven’t decided—that we seem to mesh well. Well, at least as far as hooking up under the sheets. I’d like to think that this is nothing more than sex to me, and I’m trying really hard to keep that frame of mind. But it’s difficult. The first time I thought it was just great sex, but now, it feels like it’s more than that. He didn’t say if he’s been with anyone else since we’ve been together, and I didn’t ask. It’s only been a week, so I guess anything is possible, but I’d like to think he hasn’t. However, that doesn’t mean anything.

  For whatever reason, I know he’s unavailable emotionally. He has to be. Why else would he have this hindrance to any type of commitment? Still, it feels nice with his arms around me.

  The sun’s breaking through his window, and I’d like to go back to sleep, but if I do, I’ll be late for work again.

  My finger runs over his arm. I take another look at the scars on his shoulder. Like a spider’s web that’s been mangled, it makes me wonder what they could be from before reaching down and grabbing my shirt.

  “Just gonna dine and dash, huh?” His scratchy, morning voice chuckles.

  “Excuse you.” I turn around and kiss his cheek, immediately regretting it. That’s something a girlfriend would do, isn’t it? In the very least, someone he’s dating, and we’re not dating. “I don’t want to risk being late to work again.”

  Reaching over, he grabs his phone, checking the time. “It’s barely eight. I thought you said you don’t work until noon.”

  “Aw.” I playfully poke his ribs after pulling down my shirt. “Is someone going to miss me?”

  Sliding closer, he runs his hand under the sheets, moving it up my thigh. “Well, I might miss a part of you.”

  Shoving his hand away, I crawl over and sit on top of him. “You know, sometimes I think you’re an arrogant jerk, but that just came off as an ass.”

  “Says the girl now sitting on top of me.”

  “Oh, do you not like this? You seemed to be enjoying it last night.” I teasingly bite my lip, grinding my hips into his.

  His fingers clamp around my hips. “Well, you said I needed to work on my stamina. I just wanted to prove to you I have no issues in that department.”

  Leaning down to him, my lips graze his. “Well then, I’d say our work is finished.”

  Breaking free of his grasp, I slide off the bed and grab my pants.

  “What the—” His mouth drops. His eyes jump from me to his lap and back again. “Did you just do that on purpose? I’m gonna have blue balls all day.”

  “Don’t be an ass next time then,” I blurt out, unable to stop from giggling.

  Chapter 8

  Taylor

  I hear the front door close, a smile across my face, and turn over, grabbing the pillow she slept on. She smells good. It’s a sweet scent. Like honey or some kind of nectar.

  Get that shit out of your head.

  Shoving the pillow away, I sit up and take another deep breath. This time it’s to clear my head. I’m not going to like
this girl. Yeah, she’s kind, incredibly beautiful, and damn it if last night wasn’t better than the first time we hooked up. But I have to keep these feelings in check. She’s a distraction. They all are. I know what happens when I try to get serious with a girl and I can’t stand those nightmares.

  After going out with Calvin and Ethan, the night started off like any other. Then Ethan’s mom wasn’t feeling very good. She was his babysitter, so his night was done. Calvin found a girl and took off early, but I stayed behind waiting for Becky to show up. Then she canceled.

  I called Micah up, but he was hanging out with Veronica, so I decided to head out to the always reliable fallback, Chevy’s. It’s casual, my cousin works there, and the servers all know me. It’s basically my Cheers. My dad loves that show.

  That’s when I saw Sasha.

  To say she looked underdressed would be an understatement, but I also know what she looks like dressed up and with no dress on at all. I thought about saying hi at first, but she seemed to be lounging with her friends, or maybe they were workmates. In any case, it was pretty clear she wasn’t out, looking for someone to hit on her. That should’ve been clear to any guy with half a brain. Unfortunately, there’s always the over-achievers.

  I heard a few of his one-liners, and not only had to hold back a few groans, but also a couple of laughs. It was comical watching Sasha volley all of his overused and unoriginal pickup lines. The dude appeared to be harmless, albeit persistent, and I would assume she and her friends could’ve easily handled it in the end, but I couldn’t resist. Especially after remembering her lips.

  I’m glad she knows this isn’t anything serious. I almost never hook-up with the same girl twice. There are exceptions, like Becky, because she’s incredibly sexy and wants exactly what I want, no matter what Micah says. I don’t know if Sasha’s the same, but I know I definitely like what we can do together.

  Looking over at the pillow, the memories of her and her smell come back.

  Go to hell.

  Great, now I’m talking to myself. That’s always the first sign that I need to get out and hit the gym.

  After a shower, I head to the kitchen, when Micah walks in and gives me a smirk.

  “What?”

  “Was that Sasha’s car I saw again last night?”

  I don’t answer. Casting a sideways glance, I grab an energy drink out of the fridge and a protein bar from the cabinet.

  “Dude, you should think about it.”

  “Micah, there’s nothing to think about. We hooked up a couple of times. End of story.”

  Leaning against the kitchen counter, he raises his eyebrows, nodding with a smile. Micah’s not one to push something though, so it comes as no surprise that he changes the subject. Unfortunately, it’s a different subject I’m not usually anxious to discuss either. “How’d it go meeting up with AJ and his parents?”

  I take a bite of my protein bar, lifting my shoulders. “As good as it usually does. He got straight A’s again.”

  “Cool. You should visit your parents. They’ve been back home for about a year now, right?”

  I nod, finishing my protein bar, and stare down at the ground. I love my parents. They basically relocated their entire lives for me for my last year of high school. When I wanted to find my own place as soon as I graduated high school, I know they worried about me. But after my first semester, they decided to move back to Santa Monica. All of my family lives out there. All of Reese’s family too.

  “I’ve thought about it, but … everyone’s so nice when I go out. It makes me uncomfortable.”

  “Taylor,” he says, I’m sure waiting for me to look over at him. It’s something I’ve noticed Micah does. He likes to look someone in the eye, almost like he’s making sure the person is really hearing him. I hate it. “It wasn’t your—”

  “I’m gonna hit the gym,” I cut him off. I’ve heard his words before. I didn’t agree with them then, and I don’t agree with them now. “You work today?”

  Giving me a knowing smirk, he shakes his head. “Nope, V and I are going out. Want to come?”

  “Ha!” I finish my energy drink and grab another protein bar to take with me. “Thanks, but I think I’ll pass on date night, or day in this case. Either way, let her know I bought some new headphones, extra noise canceling ones.”

  Laughing, he shakes his head. It’s a friendly, ongoing joke I have with him and his girlfriend. She’s super nice, and they’re great together. I’m happy for Micah. Unfortunately, our small, two-bedroom apartment has walls about as thin as a sheet of paper. And they’re loud.

  “You’re a dick, you know that, right?” he replies, still laughing.

  “You do realize I still owe both of you for that little stunt you two played last month.”

  “Dude,” he puts up in hands in innocence, “that was all her idea.”

  “The song could’ve been worse. I have actually hooked up to ‘Pony’ by Ginuwine, but that girl was so embarrassed she left her bra behind. She just grabbed her shirt and bolted.”

  “Maybe you shouldn’t have teased Veronica that one night by blasting the Meg Ryan scene from When Harry Met Sally.” I start laughing. He’s holding back a chuckle, turning a little shade of red. “I’ll give it to you, that was a good one. At first, I thought you actually had a girl in your room and were competing with us.”

  “Come on, I know the limit. I’d never do that.” He quirks an eyebrow at me. “Besides, you know I’d win.”

  “Jackass.”

  Chapter 9

  Sasha

  “Oh my God,” my sister moans. Loudly. “Oh … my God.”

  “Please. Stop.”

  “No, she’s right,” Tara says, licking her lips. “Mmm.”

  “You guys.” I slam my spatula down on the counter harder than I mean to. “It’s food, not a sexual experience.”

  “Your food is a sexual experience,” Tara giggles, swirling her fork around her plate.

  “Sash, this is delicious,” Felicia agrees. “How can this be your first time making it?”

  It’s not uncommon for me to cook dinner for us, and every once in a while, I’ll try something new. A few days ago, Adam told me about some great fresh spices that go amazing with shrimp, so I decided to make shrimp scampi with angel hair pasta tonight. It’s obviously a big hit.

  “How are you so skinny?” Tara asks, piercing a piece of shrimp, before letting out another moan as she chews her food. “If I cooked like you, I’d want to eat it all!”

  Rolling my eyes, I let out a laugh. “I don’t know. Fast metabolism? I mean, I taste everything I cook.”

  “You should see her in my yoga class,” Felicia laughs, scooping the last of the pasta off her plate. “She gives up after five minutes.”

  “I hate Bikram yoga,” I deadpan. “And the tree pose. I hate the tree pose.”

  “But I bet you love the flexibility that stuff gives you.” Tara casts a coy smile in my direction.

  “So what’s the deal with you and Hemsworth Junior—”

  “Ha!” Tara nearly spits out her pasta at Felicia’s quip. “Hemsworth Junior. I love it. I’m calling him Thor from now on.”

  “Just don’t do it in front of him. I’m still getting over your and Rita’s not so subtle jabs that night at Chevy’s.” I look over to Felicia. “And there is no deal. He’s a ‘no strings attached’ kind of guy, I guess. Which is fine for me.”

  “Really?” Felicia raises an unconvinced eyebrow.

  “Yes, really. Honestly, this has been perfect. I’m not concerned about being in a relationship, so I don’t have to worry if we’re something or not. Plus, it’s not like a regular thing or anything. Chevy’s was just a one-time deal.”

  “You mean, two-time deal.”

  “Fine,” I concede. “But it’s not like we planned to meet up again after the club. He works and goes to school. I’m working myself.”

  Wiping her mouth, Felicia leans back in her chair, gently rubbing her food baby stomach,
still humming in delight. “You’ve never been one for a casual hook-up, Sasha. Even the guys in the past, you were always with them at least a couple of weeks before ending it. Why now?”

  I stare at my plate. I have wondered that, and I’m pretty sure it’s because I don’t want to deal with the same kind of situation I have in the past.

  Before I can answer, Tara interrupts. “You should make it a thing.”

  “Tara, he already told me that first night. He doesn’t do relationships.”

  “No, not a relationship. You seem good enough on your own, too. So why get bogged down in the relationship drama? Just, you know, someone you can call up when you want to and—”

  “Friends with benefits? Seriously, Tara?”

  “Why not?” Tara challenges.

  I look over at Felicia, shaking my head, expecting her to have the same expression as me. Instead, she wears a curious mien.

  “Really, Felicia? You think I should?”

  She wiggles her hand side to side. “Well, I wouldn’t say you should, but I’m not saying you shouldn’t. You guys already hooked up twice. Why not?”

  “Uh, how about the most obvious one? Friends with bennies never works. Someone always develops feelings. And you said it yourself, I don’t do random hookups. I’m not interested in falling for some guy who, for whatever reason, doesn’t want a girlfriend.”

  Tara nods in thought. “Remember him in high school? He never had a girlfriend back then either. Maybe he’s just playing this whole thing up, waiting to fall head over heels for someone.”

  “Okay,” I scoff. “Someone’s been watching too many romcoms lately.”

  She laughs, ignoring the comment. “We never did figure out the rumors about him.”

  “He transferred our senior year. It was high school. Rumors mills are rampant.”

  “Yeah, but you said he has some scars, right? What if he escaped a mob hit, and had to go into the witness protection program?”

  Felicia and I exchange stares, both of us rolling our eyes at the same time, then letting out a laugh.