by T. L Smith
“Rylee, you made it. Holy shit.” She pulls me in for a one-arm hug, “What’s your poison? I’m a gin girl, myself.”
“I’ll have the same.”
“Awesome.” I stand behind her as she orders, and when she’s finished with the bartender, she turns straight back to me. “I never thought you’d actually come, but I always invite you just in case you change your mind. I’m so happy you’re here.”
My cheeks start to heat as I pull my handbag up higher on my shoulder. “Thanks. Yeah, I had no plans this evening… so thought, why not.” She smiles and hands me my drink and nods over to where there are a few of the other staff sitting around a table.
“Come… they’re in big talks about paranormal right now. Do not even ask me how we got onto this subject.” She laughs as she takes a seat and nods for me to sit next to her.
“Rylee, wow! Didn’t expect to see you here,” Benji says next to me.
I give him a small gracious smile and bring my drink to my lips.
“Hey, aren’t you usually always with your boyfriend?” Harrison asks. This is a man who should really be at home with his wife. A man who, if I remember correctly, has just had a baby.
“How’s your wife?” I ask.
Someone laughs, and I turn to Shandy.
“Werewolves don’t actually turn into wolves,” one of them says, going back to their conversation. “And vampires don’t actually fly.”
Benji leans forward, his face serious. “They do fly if they are old enough. And, of course, they turn into wolves. It’s where they got the name. Come on, what planet are you living on?”
I listen, sipping my drink, quietly thinking what the hell are they discussing, when someone taps me on my shoulder. Spinning around to a man I don’t recognize at all, I can’t help but narrow my eyes.
“Hey, you’re August’s friend, right?”
Okay, that’s weird.
“No,” I answer, then turn away to gather my thoughts. Shandy is watching the dude intently, and I notice a slight head shake, which I have no idea what that means.
“How about a drink?” he asks.
“She said no,” Shandy replies for me, her lips are thinned as she glares.
I glance around the table—the others are not paying any attention as they fight about werewolves.
“I only want to talk. No beef, lady.” When I turn around to him again, he’s studying me. “It’s nice to meet you, Rylee. I’m Josh. Tell August I said hi.” He winks and then walks out of the bar.
Umm, okay.
“That was weird. Did you know him?” Shandy asks, her eyes firmly set on the exit.
“No. Not at all.”
“He probably recognized you from somewhere. I bet you get that a lot.” She taps her glass to mine and turns back to the conversation.
Okay, is that strange too?
I reach for my phone and message August.
Someone said to say hi. Josh… do you know him?
I wait, and when he doesn’t respond, I put my phone on my lap and join in the conversation. Shandy’s nice, and she starts discussing her private life. She lives by herself, and her family has a house in a different state, so everyone she’s met has been from work, as she moved specifically for the job.
My phone beeps in my lap as we stand to get a second drink, and I glance down, reading the message.
Where are you?
No hello, nothing.
So I choose to ignore it and step off to the bar. I shout a round of drinks for the table, and when I return, there are a few missed calls.
I’m at Wobbly.
I text back, choosing not to call him. I’m not sure I want to hear his voice right now. Dreams of him are enough without having to hear him as well.
“So you and your boyfriend… it’s a no-go?” Shandy asks quietly.
“Separated.”
She nods. “You okay?”
“Yeah, it was time. We passed our expiration date a long time ago.”
“Can I say something you may not like to hear?” She bites her lip.
“Umm… sure.”
“He tried to hit on me every time he came in. Honestly, it gave me the heebie-jeebies.” She shivers.
Of course he did.
“Don’t look now, but… holy shit! The most devastatingly gorgeous man has just walked in, and well, crap… he’s coming this way.” She sits taller and pushes her tits up, which are already spilling out of the top of her dress. I have to laugh until that gorgeous man is standing directly in front of my chair.
As I glance up from the floor, I see black boots, followed by black jeans, a green shirt encasing steel-hard shoulders, and a tense jaw as he stares down at me.
Oh, shit! Is he pissed?
Forest green eyes lock on to mine. “We need to talk,” he says, and it seems everyone stops their conversation.
I stand and nod at Shandy. “I’ll just be a minute.” Turning and heading for the door, I feel him behind me every step of the way until the cold air hits my face and sends a shiver over my entire body. When I turn around to ask him if everything is all right, he’s pacing back and forth with his hands bunched into tight fists by his sides. But even more concerning are the flared nostrils and the noisy breathing through his nose. He sounds like a raging bull.
“Where is he?”
“Huh?” I ask with a grimace.
“Josh. Was he here?”
Oh, that. I nod, to which he steps closer until our chests are almost touching.
“Stay away from him. If he comes near you, you will walk the other way.”
“You couldn’t have texted that tidbit of information?” I ask, scrunching my brows in confusion.
“He’s dangerous. Stay away.”
I nod. I mean, what else can I do, but this makes him grind his teeth.
I’ve had a few drinks, and I was happy. I should be worried, but instead, I’m turned on.
“Want to come in for a drink?” I ask, nodding my head to the bar.
He glances that way, then back to me, his eyes raking me up and down before he nods.
I am so getting lucky tonight.
Chapter 16
August
Probably against my better judgment, I follow Rylee inside the bar. She’s wearing a tight, pink dress that hugs her perfect ass, with white heels accentuating her legs that I can imagine wrapped around my neck. Those shoes are probably the only reason I agreed to come in.
Because I hate people.
For some reason, though, little Miss Rylee Harley seems to have the opposite effect on me.
I don’t dislike her, even though I’ve tried to stay away.
Believe me, I’ve tried.
Her friend with the red hair checks me out and then grins.
Rylee reaches for my hand and pulls me down to sit next to her.
“Shandy, this is August,” Rylee introduces us.
“Nice to meet you,” she replies.
Rylee puts her drink to her lips, and I want to taste them so badly right now.
“You want one?” Rylee asks before placing the glass on the table.
“No. I’ll drive.”
She nods, which makes Shandy lean in close to Rylee. They think they’re whispering, but they aren’t, and I can hear every goddamn word.
“Is this your new flavor? Because he’s way better than that other asshole. He won’t even look at me. That man only has eyes for you.”
I try not to smirk at her words.
“He’s my new dessert. Yes.” She smiles, and then she winks at me before picking her glass up again and finishes off her drink.
“Hey, you’re not Anderson. Who are you?” a guy who’s clearly older than me turns and says.
Rylee answers before I can, “None of your business, Benji. Shouldn’t you be at home already?”
“If you weren’t the boss’s daughter,” he says, shaking his head and lifting his beer to his mouth to obviously stop what he was about to say.
“Yeah, you would what?” she fires back, her elbows lean on her bare knees.
I want to pull her back before his eyes fall to her cleavage—that pair of tits are hard not to stare at.
“Never mind,” he mumbles.
Rylee drops a hand on my knee, turns back to her friend, and starts talking. Her hand begins to slide up my leg, and I have to place my hand on top of hers to stop it. Giving it a squeeze, she chuckles.
“I’m getting a bit tired. Do you want to go?” Rylee asks, her voice dropping down to a sexy whisper.
“You’re drunk.”
“I like sex when I’m drunk,” she says louder than she intended, making everyone’s eyes fixate on us.
I stand and reach for her purse, then guide her outside.
She giggles as we head out, then she grips my ass in her hand, giving it a firm squeeze. “I’ve always wanted to do that,” she says, then leans on me.
“Always?”
“Yes. From the first day I saw you walking the halls of our school.”
I stop and lift her chin with my finger. “You’ve wanted me since high school?”
Her eyelashes flutter before she licks her lips. My eyes drop straight to them. They’re pinker than usual tonight, and I wonder what they taste like again.
“Every girl wanted you.” She’s breathing quite heavily, then she steps forward, putting no distance between us, our bodies touching. “And now, I have you.”
Wrong. Oh, so wrong.
I step back and unlock her car, opening her door so she can slide in. She’s confused, I can tell by the tilt of her head, but she soon shakes it off.
Driving her back to her place, she stares at me the whole drive but doesn’t say a word until we arrive.
“You should come in. Stay.”
“No. I have work to do.”
“Come.” Her hand slides over my jeans and onto my cock. “I’ll make it worth your while.” I glance at her hand and then back to her dark soulless eyes. They’re glassy tonight.
“No. Do you need me to walk you inside?”
She pulls her hand away like it’s on fire. “No! I know how to get in.”
I stay seated in her car. Pointing to the keys, I ask, “Which key do you need? I’ll bring the car back in the morning.”
She nods to the right one then gets out.
When she reaches the door, I wait for her to step inside. Her eyes find mine, and I don’t leave until the door is shut.
“She’s still asleep,” Noah says, opening the door to Rylee’s apartment the next day. I hand him the keys. “You took her car?”
“She was drunk.”
He nods in understanding. “Look, it’s not my place, but with what’s going on, you two seem to be spending plenty of time together.” He has a firm grip on his coffee.
“You’re right. It’s not your place.” He nods and accepts my answer. I like Noah. He’s treated me with more respect than most people have my entire life.
But this part of my life—what I have with Rylee—I don’t share with anyone. Because let’s face it, even I don’t know what it is yet.
How can it even be anything?
She’s a rich girl wanting to fuck a bad boy.
The problem—it’s explained as easily as that.
My problem—I let her because her rich girl pussy is fucking dynamite.
Explosive.
Like a fucking deer caught in the headlights.
And I can’t seem to walk away.
“Do you need a lift back home?” Noah asks.
I rub the back of my head. “Actually, I need a favor.”
“Yeah?”
“Can I borrow a truck? I need to get wood.”
Noah doesn’t say anything. He simply walks away, then comes back with his keys in hand. “It’s new, don’t fucking ruin it,” he states as he passes them to me.
“Thanks, man, I appreciate it.”
Noah nods his head and turns to shut the door.
Quick stepping it to his truck, I hear my name called, “August.” Turning, I see Rylee standing there, her dark hair stuck to her face, but she’s still dressed in the same stunning pink dress she was wearing last night.
“I want to apologize… for last night.”
“Why?” I ask, pulling open the door to the truck.
Rylee frowns, confusion written on her face, and then she shakes her head. “For all of it.”
“You don’t remember, do you?”
Her eyebrows pinch. “I do. Most of it anyway.”
I laugh and climb into the truck.
“Where are you going?”
“To get supplies.”
“Can I come?” My brows pull together when I stare at what she’s wearing and don’t reply. “I’ll get changed. Just… can you wait a few minutes?” She runs off without allowing me to give her an answer.
I check the dash for the time and think I will wait exactly five minutes. If she’s not back by then, I’m leaving. But that’s when I see her running out, pulling a shirt over her head. She pulls on the passenger side door and throws her bag on the backseat before she climbs in. She’s obviously showered—quickest damn shower on record—because she smells amazing, and she’s thrown her hair up in a bun on top of her head.
“You showered?” I ask because I am impressed.
Rylee lifts her pelvis forward and does up the top button of her shorts before she sits back down and pulls the seat belt across her body.
“Quickly, but yes. I stank.”
With one shake of my head, I pull the truck out. When we hit the road, she leans over and takes my sunglasses from the top of my head. “My eyes are hurting.” She puts them on her face and then glances over to me. “So, where are we going?”
“It’s Sunday. I’m sure you have more important things to do than what I’m going to be doing.”
“Nope, no plans.” She smiles. “I’m all yours.”
“Great,” I murmur under my breath, the sarcasm is not hidden, but she hears me anyway.
“We should get to know each other,” she declares when the silence gets too much for her.
“Why?”
“Because we could be friends.”
“Yeah, that won’t happen,” I argue back.
“Why, because I’m a girl?”
“No, because I’ve fucked your pussy.”
Taking a sharp left, I turn into the landscaping place to pick up supplies.
“You should try it. From what I see… you don’t seem to have any friends, besides maybe Noah. And I want to be one to you.”
“Again, we’ve fucked. People who fuck can’t be friends.”
“No more fucking then. Forget it happened.”
“You want to forget we fucked?” I ask, and cannot help the giant smirk that forms on my face.
She shakes her head. “Yes, it’s already forgotten. Now… friends?” she asks, holding out her hand for me to shake.
I blink once, sigh and glance down at it, then turn and to get out of the truck—I’m not shaking on that. Striding around to her side, I open the door and offer her my hand. She takes it as she slides out, and when she does, I make sure to press my body against hers, which makes her breath hitch and her bottom lip quiver. I lean in close, lifting the sunglasses away from her face to see her eyes already trained in on my lips.
Just when she thinks I’m about to kiss her, I pull back. “See… you still want to fuck me.” I release her and leave her standing there.
“That’s unfair. I’m on damn fire here, and you need to put out the flames,” she yells from behind me.
I stop in my tracks. Everyone in the yard looks our way. I can’t fight the upturn of my lips when I turn back to see her climbing back into the truck, embarrassed by her outburst.
Friends.
What a joke.
Because I plan to fuck her nine ways to Sunday.
Chapter 17
Rylee
I sit in the truck for ages waiting for him—I’m hungr
y, thirsty, and want sex. When August finally returns, he loads up the back of the truck with all his purchases before he gets in. He’s covered in sweat, then he spins his head around and asks, “Feel better?” His lips pull up.
I want to smack that smirk right off his face, but he throws me a drink, and I take it with eager hands.
“No, I’m hungry…” I pause, not wanting to embarrass myself any further. “Thank you.”
“I’ll cook you something when we get home. You think Noah will bring your car over to mine so we can swap back?”
I nod, knowing he will.
Shooting Noah a quick message, he replies straight away.
“He said he’ll be at yours in a few hours.”
“You and your sister are quite different for identical twins.” His hand grips the wheel tightly as he starts talking to me.
“Of course we are. We don’t share the same brain,” I reply. We always get comments and questions like that. Things like…
Are you alike?
Why does she do that, and you don’t? Aren’t you identical?
It’s the same thing over and over.
My favorite one from guys is…
Two for the price of one. My dreams are coming true.
Yeah, can you say eww?
“What’s it like, having a twin?”
Surprisingly, no one has asked me that question before, and it’s a pleasant change.
“Growing up it was good. We didn’t really know who we were back then, so it was all a giant learning curve. We could trick our mother, but never Beckham. He was the only one we could never fool with our antics…” I pause, smiling. “When we reached sixteen… that was when we realized we’re nothing alike. Not even down to our favorite colors. And especially not our taste in men. But we always stuck together. She’s literally the only person I know I would tell if I killed someone, and her first response would be, ‘So, what do we do with the body?’” I sigh.
“Must be nice to have someone like that to confide in,” he says, pulling into his driveway.
“I’d help you hide a body, August. That is… if we were friends.” I wink at him, getting out of the truck.
