“Um. Nowhere. I wasn’t aware anyone couldn’t find me,” Em replied jokingly.
“Any preference?” I interjected, gesturing to the shelf of Tequila.
“I was talking to your friend.”
A lull in conversation made me realize he was referring to me. I was the friend. I glanced over, and then up because mystery man had me by a good few inches.
I’d already known I had never seen him before, but this confirmed it. He struck me as someone that wasn’t easily forgettable.
Tall and broad shouldered, he was dressed in dark jeans and a plain black T. Tanned muscular arms were covered in intricate ink, from geometric to various memento mori. Beneath his clothing was who knows how many more.
If not for my default disposition I’d have requested to see them then and there. I loved all things art, and the designs etched onto people’s skin never ceased to amaze me. And while not my usual type, with a head of thick, jet black hair that styled in a sexy, modern undercut and a jaw that looked as if it could cut glass, this was a man any woman wouldn’t mind waking up next to.
When I met his gaze again his closed off expression was replaced by a smile that revealed sparkling white teeth. Leaning in as if to whisper a secret, he spoke softly, “I’m glad someone appreciates all the hard work I put in to look like this.”
. Heat bloomed in my cheeks. I couldn’t play off that I’d been gawking at him like a boy obsessed schoolgirl This close, I realized his eyes were far more than a simple grey. I’d call them silver but that didn’t do them justice. Set beneath perfect, dense lashes, they were beautiful, harboring a hardness that was impossible to miss.
I wished I had more time to study them, memorize the colors swirling in the center and dancing around their edges, but I had done enough staring as it was.
“I’m sorry,” I apologized.
“Don’t be. You’re gorgeous, how could I be anything but flattered that you like me?”
His tone was teasing. I dared say flirtatious even. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d been flirted with. Most guys knew they’d never get anywhere with me, so they didn’t bother.
I was no virgin and the furthest thing from a prude, I just didn’t pass my vagina around like a hot potato.
Mystery man’s eyes roamed downward, flickering back to mine when he got to where my nipples were poking through my top the look on his face one, I couldn’t decipher. Quite honestly, it was weirding me out that I wanted to. I had seen hot guys before, admittedly none of them looked like him. But I never felt anything from merely standing in their presence and couldn’t care less what they may or may not be thinking.
As if sensing my discomfort, he shuffled back the smallest bit. Not far enough to put an abundance of space between us but I appreciated the sentiment.
“So, what kind?” I asked Em, attempting to refocus.
“You decide.”
I shrugged and grabbed a bottle of silver Patron, then thought about it and reached for a second.
If we consumed as much of this as I predicted, I’d need to restock once they left. After the looks she and Annika gave me earlier, it probably wasn’t wise to snatch up as many bottles as I could. One extra would have to suffice, for now.
“Nice choice.”
“I ‘ve got pretty good taste.”
That earned me another grin. “We haven’t met yet. I’m Rhett. And that’s Callum.” He motioned towards his friend, who was now loading bottles of different Vodka into his cart.
“Wow,” Emery murmured loud enough that he heard.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” he retorted, looking over at her with a boyish smile.
“I think she was referring to your extreme amount of alcohol.”
“Can one really ever have too much alcohol?”
“Not if you don’t care about your liver,” Emery replied matter-of-factly.
I looked between the two of them, her and this Callum guy, and I swear the smile on her face had grown two times bigger since he’d spoken. I completely understood why. Callum was just as attractive as Rhett. Same height and build but with a smaller amount of tats. Light brown hair and hazel eyes.
They were exactly the kind of trouble we didn’t need. Knowing their names was good enough for me. Now I knew these were the new guys in town, the ones Em had been going on and on about a few weeks ago.
“Come on,” I said to her, stepping back so I was no longer boxed in.
“Have fun with all that.” She gave them a parting smile, and then followed me to the checkout they’d put in the back of the store specifically for the liquor department.
There was only one person in front of us but that small delay gave Rhett and Callum enough time to grab the rest of what they needed and join us in line.
I relaxed a bit when they made no attempt to engage us in further conversation. Though, that did little to take away the feel of eyes on me or diminish the scent of intoxicating cologne coming from behind me. I gnawed the inside of my lower lip, mentally hurrying the cashier along.
After the day I’d had I wasn’t in the mood to uphold my good girl façade for a stranger any longer than necessary.
Thankfully the woman at the register rang us up without trying to make small talk. I paid and Emery took the bag so I could return my card to my wallet, putting exaggerated focus on what I was doing to avoid looking at Rhett.
Eye contact often opened doors for conversation.
“Hey,” he called before I could make a quick escape, loud enough for everyone in the back section of the store to hear.
I paused and glanced back questioningly.
“You never told me your name.”
“It’s Nova.” I turned and started walking again. The second we were clear of earshot Emery practically danced in place. Her broken heart temporarily forgotten.
“Ohmygod! They are way too fine. I can’t believe that just happened. They’ve been here for a whole month and have spoken to me maybe three times. Two of those when I was working. So, they didn’t really have a choice.”
“Precisely.”
“I didn’t mean it like that. They’ve never been rude or anything. We don’t run in the same circles.”
“We don’t run in anyone’s circles. That’s how we became friends.”
She couldn’t refute that, not when we both knew it was true. Em and I never had a specific clique or type of person that we gravitated towards. We’d never gone out of our way to find one either. Too many people flitted between masks to disguise themselves and fit in, losing who they were in the process. All to please a select few that didn’t give a damn about them anyway.
It was perhaps hypocritical of me to judge when one could argue that I was guilty of the exact same thing. I hid away the side of me that could never be understood. No one knew who I really was--except for Emery. But lately, I’d been keeping secrets from even her.
“So, what did you think of them? By them I really mean Rhett.”
“Em, seriously?”
“Yes, Nova. Seriously.”
“I think that I’m not the type of girl guys like him pay any attention to.”
She clicked her teeth at me. “He called you gorgeous. Which you are by the way.”
I shrugged, not seeing the big deal. “I’m sure he’s called lots of girls gorgeous.”
“Probably. But lots of girls aren’t you.”
“That’s a good thing,” I muttered.
“It is a good thing. You’re unique,” she said smugly.
“Riiiight. Anyways, can you text Nika and tell her to meet us at the car? I forgot my phone at the house.”
“You know you’re the only person on the planet who isn’t attached to their cellphone? Take this.” She passed the bag to me and retrieved her cell from her hoodie pocket.
We hit the parking lot and for the first time I noticed the matte black Porsche and lifted pick up a few spots down from my car.
It wasn’t the make of the vehicles that caught my atten
tion, but the two chicks and the guy leaning against them.
I studied their faces, not recognizing any of them. A peculiar smell permeated the air, heightened by a soft breeze, giving away what it was they were smoking. It was a bold move but by the looks of it they had money, that alone made the blunt they were passing around invisible.
Legacy Falls was a college town where everyone mostly knew everyone and only cared about three things. Sports, dollar signs, and status. If you didn’t have one or the other, you weren’t worthy of a place here. And if you had more? You were practically royalty.
“They’re friends of Rhett’s. Got here maybe two, three weeks ago. Right after him.”
“Staying at the Inn?”
She glanced at me from the corner of her eye. “Okay. Now I know you don’t listen to anything I tell you.”
“That’s not true.” I went to the driver side of the car, looking back when I heard the rattle of a shopping cart.
There was Rhett and Callum, swaggering through the parking lot with enough liquor to supply a small fraternity. When I realized I was staring again it was too late. Rhett turned his head and caught me looking right at him. He smiled, saying something to Callum that I couldn’t here before making his way towards me.
With one foot already inside the car, Emery froze and watched him approach as if she were seeing Jesus make his second coming. I would never let her live this down. My Em was guy crazy for once in her life, which sure as hell beat her pining over her shitty boyfriend.
Rhett barely glanced at her, his gaze resting solely on me. “You got any plans tomorrow night?”
“No.”
“I’m having a --.”
“I figured that. I meant no.” I internally cringed at how harsh I sounded. And I’d just cut him off. An apology settled on the tip of my tongue, never getting a chance to spill.
Undeterred by my rudeness he walked right up to me and lowered his face in such a way that from a stranger’s viewpoint it would look like he was going in for a kiss. I could smell something peppermint-ish on his breath.
Basic instinct had my hand coming up and resting on his ridiculously solid chest. Making no effort to remove it, he leaned even closer and spoke loud enough for only me to hear. “Why do I get the feeling that you’re not as sweet as they said you were?”
Who was they?
In perfect timing, Annika walked up, the sound of her heels breaking our little moment.
“What is this? Is there something I should know?” she questioned, looking between Rhett and me.
“No,” I said at the time Rhett replied, “I was telling Nova you guys should come up to the cabin tomorrow.”
“It’s like a housewarming,” Callum not so helpfully added.
Rhett stepped back and my hand fell away. My palm started itching so I rubbed it across my shorts, making it look as if I were trying to wipe away some imaginary germs, I’d contracted just by touching him. His eyes slightly narrowed, a coolness washing over his features.
I was completely bombing this first impression. He probably thought I was like half the population in town—a snobbish bitch. Maybe that was a good thing, though.
I wasn’t sure what he wanted with me and I had no desire to find out.
“It’s nothing personal. We just don’t do get togethers.”
“Usually,” Emery inserted, suddenly finding her voice.
She meant ever.
“Text me all the good stuff and we’ll be there,” Annika seconded.
Text her? They were beyond an exchanging numbers level?
Rhett turned entirely then, engaging her in conversation. With slightly pursed lips I opened my door and got in the car, shutting myself inside. It was times such as these that I was reminded why I never left the goddamn house.
CHAPTER TWO
NOVA
Her phone vibrated for the sixth time in ten minutes. I stared her down from behind the rim of my glass, loudly sucking on a Tequila flavored ice-cube.
“Don’t give me that look,” Annika reprimanded.
“What look?”
“The one of betrayal,” Emery laughed.
“I can’t believe you stood there and accepted his invite.”
She quirked a brow. “You jealous, NoNo?”
“So jealous.” I rolled my eyes and sat my drink on a coaster before flopping down onto the couch.
“By the way you two were eye-fucking one another I’m surprised you didn’t get his number your dang self.”
“That’s not what we were doing. I’m pretty sure we were silently telling each other to go straight to hell. I was rude and he was…” The word intense floated to the forefront of my mind but saying that would only encourage them. I left the sentence dangling.
Annika flipped her blonde waves over her shoulder and sat taller in the Lay-Z-Boy. “And you’re wrong. He apologized for coming on to strong and re-invited us to his party tomorrow night.”
“For one, they said it was a housewarming thing not a party. And two, he’s apologizing through a middle-man?”
She huffed and stood up. “Nova, you can’t live like a damn hermit the rest of your life. You’re twenty-two not eighty.”
“Which one of those two do you think is wiser?”
“Nova!”
I grabbed one of my throw pillows and placed it over my face. Childish, yes. But it was impossible to hold a buzz around this girl. I loved her, but if she could occasionally shut the fuck up, I might love her more. When she forced herself onto the small section of couch beside me, I knew that was wishful thinking.
“Don’t try to block me out.” She grabbed the pillow and tossed it across the room.
“Why don’t you just go without her? Like you have every other party this year?” Emery questioned.
“Exactly!” I held my palm outward to emphasize Em’s logic.
“Because, Rhett specifically said to have Nova come, and we go with her. So, technically it’s her invite. And don’t act like you don’t wanna go Em. I saw the way you were looking at Callum.”
Emery propped herself up on the ottoman part of my sectional and downed the rest of her drink, trading her empty glass for a bowl of nachos.
“What sane female wouldn’t stare at Callum? Or Rhett? Hell, the guy by that pick-up truck too. Did you see how big he looked. Dude was like a tree. One I would love to climb.”
“Yes, girl!” Annika sang, holding her hand out for a high-five.
Em leaned closer, stopping at the last second. “Wait. I thought you only liked older men. Committed older men.”
“Bitch,” Annika breathed, marching back to the Lay-Z-Boy. She slammed her ass down onto the cushion and resumed texting with exaggerated keystrokes.
“Committed?”
Her fooling around with older guys wasn’t a secret between the three of us, but this was the first time I’d heard of one of them being in a relationship.
She looked away from her phone to glare at both of us. “Why is it we can never talk about your total lack of male interaction and the way you hide away in this freaking tomb, or Emery’s shitty boyfriend, who--.”
“Is the real reason we’re even here. To discuss a course of action. She was just joking Nika. Don’t take it to heart.”
I didn’t believe a word of what I’d just said, I was simply trying to prevent a fight between the two of them. This was the ugly side of our ‘Tequila Talks’. The liquor went down and the truth came out.
“There isn’t a course of action needed. He’s an ex-boyfriend now,” Emery corrected. “And you know I didn’t mean anything by that, Nika. I don’t care how many old men you let in your snatch.”
Oh, god. I groaned. “You guys, stooop.” I swung my legs over the side of the couch and sat up, reaching for my glass so I could go get a refill.
“No fighting. We drink to drown our sorrows, not to bitch. Can I trust you two alone for five minutes?”
“If you get me a drink too,” Emery grinned.
; “Fine, but then your cut off.” I picked her cup up on my way past the coffee table. Entering the kitchen, I placed one on the island and refilled the other with ice from the automatic dispenser. As I was grabbing the half empty bottle of Tequila, my mind wandered back to a certain silver-eyed guy.
I could admit to myself that Rhett had piqued my interest, and not just because of his looks. It was him in general. He was something unknown, and everything mysterious had a compelling allure.
He seemed…different. And a threat to who you’re supposed to be. With my inner voice of reason speaking up I was swiftly reminded of another potential issue, a much larger one. I quickly filled my glass like I had Em’s, and then mixed both with fresh cans of soda.
My drink was at my lips before I took one step back towards the living room, the cool liquid leaving a sweet burning sensation in its path as it traveled down my throat. I knew there wasn’t enough liquor in the world to fix my problems or all the issues that came with them. It had become necessary, though. Alcohol was the elixir of my life, a self-medication of the mind and an inebriation of my soul.
I could hear the girls talking softly from the other room. On a Friday night they should have been out drinking somewhere where they’d be sure to have a good time. Not that I held them hostage.
Annika would go off and do her own thing if she really wanted to, but Em was always with me when she wasn’t working or with Tyler.
I refilled my glass again, nursing it on the way back to the living room.
“Here you go.” I handed Em hers’ and returned to my spot on the couch, grabbing my throw off the back before I sat down. “Is everyone getting along now?”
“I said sorry,” Annika tossed out, face in her phone.
“So did I.”
“We also agreed on something.”
They shared a look, and I narrowed my eyes in suspicion. These two collaborating couldn’t mean anything good. “And that would be?”
“The housewarming thing,” Annika replied smugly.
I expelled a noisy breath and ran a hand over my face. “Even if I did want to go to this party, I don’t know these people. Do you?”
“I know enough.”
That meant she hardly knew anything.
Sweet Poisons (Pretty Lies, Ugly Truths Duets Book 1) Page 2
