EVERNIGHT PUBLISHING ®
www.evernightpublishing.com
Copyright© 2016 Jordan S Gray
ISBN: 978-1-77339-136-6
Cover Artist: Jay Aheer
Editor: Audrey Bobak
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WARNING: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews.
This is a work of fiction. All names, characters, and places are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
DEDICATION
To those who live outside of society’s mold, this one’s for you.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
EASY was a super fun book to work on, but it was made even funner thanks to the following people. Jordan, as always, you were my rock throughout the entire process. Crystal, Mariah, and Amy, you were beta superstars and this finished product would not have been possible without your valuable input. Diana, you stayed up with me long before the first draft came to be and helped it become more than a jumbled jigsaw puzzle of random thoughts and scenes. Audrey, you continue to be the best editor I could have ever wanted. Christine, EASY wouldn’t even be in this format without your enthusiasm for it. Thank you, all of you.
I also want to thank my grandmother and grandfather for continuing to support me no matter what. Nanny, you read PRUDE even when I begged you not to. I know you’ll read this as well. Grandpa, you’ll probably check the paper every week after this comes out to see if I’m a bestseller yet. Thank you for your enthusiasm. I love you.
Lastly, I want to thank the readers who gave PRUDE a chance. I hope you enjoy this just as much, if not more.
EASY
Labeled, 2
Jordan S Gray
Copyright © 2016
Chapter One
Shayler Thompson was not having a good day. Actually, strike that. Shayler Thompson was having a fucking terrible day. First, she’d missed her Criminology class for the fourth time, thanks to a faulty alarm. Second, she’d gotten Cheetos dust all over a new sweater, and the orange stains clashed hideously with her red hair. And third, Rebecca had brought Derek to girls’ night. Again.
“What’ll you have?”
Shayler surveyed the different beers on draft, taking her sweet time. The bartender, thankfully the same guy from earlier in the year, didn’t seem to mind. It gave him a good view of her cleavage, after all.
She leaned over further, giving zero fucks that he could see into her bra. The longer she took to pick a drink, the less it would cost and the longer she’d be away from the happy couple. Shayler frowned and stuck a hand on her hip, humming as she ran through her options.
Seriously though, being around Rebecca and Derek would’ve been a dream had she been a bulimic who needed a new muse. But she wasn’t, and she liked her figure the way it is was, so she tried to avoid them as much as possible. Okay, not avoid them, Rebecca was her best friend after all, but she definitely tried to avoid their more lovey-dovey moments.
Shayler, as grossed out as she was by their mega-commitment, was happy for her best friend. Derek was obviously a catch with his dark hair, vibrant eyes, and Lick-Me muscles. Not to mention all the groveling he’d been doing as of late.
Tossing her hair to the side, she glanced back to their table. Rebecca sat on Derek’s lap, curled around him like a snake, and laughed about something while she swatted his hand away from her ponytail. Shayler frowned. They reminded her more of a pair of suburban parents than college kids who should just be having fun. What the hell was everyone’s rush to fall in love, anyway?
And those two were undeniably in love. God, she thought with a groan, how many times had she caught Rebecca sighing like a fucking Disney princess or seen Derek staring at Rebecca like she had some kind of magical vagina?
“Vodka soda, hold the soda,” Shayler decided, fluffing her curls and wishing she’d spent more time on them that morning. They were looking a little limp.
She slouched against the bar as she waited for her drink. Ansley’s snort-laugh alerted Shayler to their table, where Derek was trying to make Rebecca dance. Shayler ran her tongue over her teeth and sighed. She had no idea how Ansley was so comfortable with being around them, especially with all of her hidden men-issues.
Although, Derek had been like a different person ever since he and Rebecca had started dating again. And by that, Shayler meant that he was especially nice to everyone, and he was always doing bitch errands in hopes to impress Rebecca. Little did he know that Rebecca was simply blown away by him just existing. Ugh. Shayler shook her head again, thankful when Tim or Tom—or whatever his name was—pushed a drink to her with a wink. Shayler pulled a five out of her pocket, but he declined with a wave.
“You can repay me later.”
Shayler giggled and licked her lips before she threw the drink back. As if she would actually fuck a thirty-something bartender who worked at a college dive bar. She laughed to herself before feeling someone come up behind her. Shayler turned, frowning again.
“Shayler.”
“Green Eyes,” she greeted, beckoning the bartender for another drink. As much as she was happy for Rebecca, that didn’t mean her best friend’s boyfriend was exactly on her good side.
“I need your help.”
“Rebecca’s never going to be into anal,” she said, tilting her head as she waited for an outraged declaration of surprise. At most, he seemed mildly bored. Derek was just no fun—at least, not with her.
“Funny. It’s her birthday soon, actually, and I wanted to plan something special.”
“You’re not gonna propose, are you?” Shayler grabbed her second drink and took a sip, a slight buzz from her first drink working its way to her brain. She closed her eyes, reveling in the almost-floating sensation.
“I’ve got a few things planned, but I really just wanted to make it special. I thought, since you know her best, that maybe you’d want to help.” He narrowed his eyes like he was challenging her.
Shayler shrugged. “I could be into that. What’s in it for me?”
He raised an eyebrow, and Shayler couldn’t help but admire how lucky her best friend had gotten with this one’s looks. “You need something to help plan your best friend’s birthday?”
“Nah, I’m just fucking with you. But if one of your surprises happens to be a diamond ring, don’t tell me. Big mouth and all that.”
“All right,” he drawled.
Shayler scanned the bar, far too bored with their conversation. She needed something light and fun, something that would take her mind off proposals and relationships. Something like … that. Licking her lips again, Shayler pushed up her bra and winked at Derek.
“Excuse me, I’ve got places to be.”
She left her vodka on the bar, half empty, and stalked toward her prey. A scruffy blond sat at a table, alone, with a textbook open in front of him. He was a little too lean for her and appeared to be drinking water, which didn’t make him seem like he’d be that great of a time, but Shayler needed a quick release from reality and he was attractive enough. She grinned. Obviously, this was going to be easy.
Pushing her way past a row of rowdy frat boys, some of whom she’d probably known intimately during her freshman year of college, she made her way to the booth in the back. Hot Guy turned a page of his book and typed something in his phone. Her stomach tumbled uneasily as she realized he was studying, but the nausea also could’ve been from the vodka, so she shrugged it off.
Someone grabbed her upper arm and tugged her toward him. Shayler smacked the hand away before backing up to get a good look. Chris Someth
ing tried to keep her flush against him, all the while flicking Bieber-esque blond hair away from his eyes.
“Babe … how are you?” he asked.
Shayler rolled her eyes. Chris had been a mistake from last year, a mistake who didn’t seem to understand what a one-night stand was. Hell, she would’ve been fine making him a fuck buddy, but he perpetually smelled like sweaty Doritos and he was as clingy as a spider monkey.
“Craig,” she greeted, attempting to maneuver around him.
He stepped closer, and his breath fanned across her face. It was like walking into a muggy summer night, but with a sushi-like aftertaste. “Very funny. I know you remember me.”
Ugh. Clingy she could handle, but wealthy frat boys who hated being told no? Totally different story. She turned her smile to stun and trailed a finger across his chest. “Of course I do. You were amazing.”
Chris inflated, puffing his chest out like he was some sort of peacock. “Yeah, well, it was a good time … if you wanted to do it again—”
She swallowed a giggle, instead choosing to whisper his name in a breathy manner that was usually reserved for Victorian porn. “Chris … I would, but it was too … too special. I’m afraid I’d get attached. I’m afraid you’ll break my heart.” She closed her eyes and shook her head, thinking about the pro-vegan videos her roommate, Whitney, had sent her earlier in the year. If the thought of mutilated, tortured baby cows couldn’t make her cry, she hoped it’d at least make her seem sad.
When she opened them again, Chris was shrugging and taking a sip of a light beer. Slowly, he inched closer to his friends. “Right. I’ll, uh, see ya around.”
“Later.” She saluted him, the bounce back in her strut as she escaped from him.
She swayed her hips from side to side, and the black skirt she wore twirled around her thighs with every step, teasing at the lace panties she wore underneath. And if that wasn’t enough to get Hot Guy’s attention, her cleavage was killing it in one of her Victoria’s Secret push-up bras that had cost her a month of her snack-food budget.
She debated if the purchase was really worth it when Hot Guy glanced up. Shayler shook her hair, making sure the curls coiled and the ends teased the top of her boobs. It wouldn’t be long before he gasped or smirked or whatever boys did when they spotted a sexy girl. But that never came, and Shayler found herself frowning when he turned back to his book and rubbed his head.
If he hadn’t been so incredibly good looking, she’d have turned away and stomped back to her table, but the closer she got, the more she noticed how drop-dead gorgeous he was.
He wasn’t at all like her usual beefy, muscled conquests. This guy was thinner, like a runner or swimmer, and he had a close shave on his head that made him seem a little dangerous- like the badass superhero from Arrow. Shayler swallowed and wiped her palms on her skirt. Why was she just standing there?
She pivoted, spying Derek and Rebecca giggling before sneaking kisses when Ansley turned her head. Yeah, waiting awkwardly in front of Hot Guy was a much better option than returning to the soft-core action happening at her table.
Shayler brightened and adjusted her weight so that her hip stuck out. “Hey.”
Hot Guy looked at her and then back at his reading. “Hi.”
Not a great reaction, but not terrible. She ran a tongue over her teeth. So he hadn’t checked her boobs out directly, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t seen them. She leaned on the table, thankful for her short height at that moment, and cocked her head. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
This time, he made eye contact. Shayler sucked in a breath at seeing his stormy gray eyes. They were intense, like a sea during a hurricane or a Trojan Groove condom wrapper. She tried swallowing, but her throat was suddenly dry.
Hot Guy sighed and stuck a notecard in his textbook. “I don’t usually hang out at bars.”
“Why the sudden change?” she asked, wanting to keep him interested. Though, mentally, she wondered what kind of college guy didn’t go to bars and if there was something wrong with him. Maybe he was a serial killer scoping out his next victim.
“New roommate.” He sat up. “Is there something you need?”
Shayler grinned at his perfect set up. Sliding slowly on the glazed wood, she took a seat across from him. “Well, there’s something I want.”
“All right, what?”
She froze. This dude was definitely the Bill Gates of gorgeous men, and it was just her luck. Not even with Garret, her last fuck buddy, had she needed to be so blunt before, and he’d suffered from five concussions in his lifetime.
“You.”
He rubbed his eyes. “Look, you seem nice, uh…”
“Shayler,” she said with a bit of bite.
“Okay, Shayler. You seem nice, but, I’m sorry, I’m not really into it.”
A cackle escaped her lips. “Are you a professor or something?”
The tips of his ears reddened, and he cleared his throat. “No.”
“What’s the problem then?”
“It’s just not my thing.”
Shayler narrowed her eyes, twirling an auburn curl around her fingers. She didn’t think it was possible for her day to get any more awful, but now she was being blown off? “Come on. You’re hot, I’m hot. It’s just a bit of fun.”
“No thanks. Like I said, it’s not for me.”
Shayler ran through her mind for a clue as to what was happening. She was usually good about picking guys who wanted her back. “Are you gay?”
“Am I what?”
“Gay.”
“No. I’m not.” His voice dropped an octave, and she felt it deep in the pit of her stomach. At least some part of him was sexy and seductive, gay or not.
She leaned in. “It’s okay. I’m a woman, I get it. There’s a crazy amount of oppression and discrimination still, despite what the government wants us to think. I won’t say anything.”
He laughed, but it was a short, clipped sound. “Did you read that in a pamphlet somewhere?”
“No. I’m just trying to help.”
Though she was annoyed by his dismissive attitude, she couldn’t help but admire the way he clenched his jaw and ran a hand across his chin. It was so masculine, and she could only imagine how rough his five o’clock shadow would feel against something sensitive like a hand or a—
“Yes, well … do you mind if I get back to my work now?” he asked, nodding to his textbook.
At this point, she knew it was dumb to continue antagonizing him. If he was gay, it wasn’t her business. But she was fairly sure he wasn’t, and his rejection was sitting in her stomach like a cinderblock of raw chicken. “Of course. Oh, FYI, there’s an app called Grindr that you might want to check out.”
He shut his book and sighed. “For the last time, I’m not gay. I’m just not interested.”
“Why not?”
“You’re relentless.”
“Please,” she said, needing to know what it was about her that was so unappealing to him. “The sooner you tell me, the sooner I can leave.”
“You’re not my type.”
Her laughter was loud enough to draw the attention of the entire bar. His gaze darted to the table, but Shayler remained unfazed. Attention wasn’t anything new to her. “I’m everyone’s type. Look at me.”
“Not mine.”
“Come on. Is it the red hair?” She pulled on a curl. “Am I too short?”
He responded with a smile, but it was one teachers gave to small children when they showed them some horrid drawing and expected praise. “It’s not that.”
“Then what?”
“I’m not really into”—he paused, finding the words—“the whole easy thing.”
“Easy? I am not easy!”
Hot Guy was quick to try and placate her. “I’m not saying you are, but you did walk up here and offer casual sex without knowing my name. That’s not my thing.”
Shayler gaped at him. Easy. Easy. Easy. Every beat of her heart mimic
ked the insult, slicing into her ego until her vision blurred.
“Are you—”
“Whatever. It’s your loss,” she said, interrupting him as she stood.
No one had called her that before, at least to her face. Who the fuck was he to say that? So she liked sex and was confident enough to do something about it. There was nothing wrong with that. As she sashayed back to her table, she cursed the dumb nerd and his stupid opinion. It wasn’t as if he was her last option. Her bed would be filled before long, and she’d forget all about the incident.
“Hey, are you okay?” Rebecca whispered as Shayler fell into a seat.
“Perfect.” Shayler grabbed Ansley’s drink and threw it back.
Under the table, she noticed movement. Derek snaked an arm around Rebecca’s waist as her chair scooted closer to his. Shayler’s lip curled up. It was official. Today was the fucking worst.
Chapter Two
Shayler rubbed her hair with an old towel, hoping her locks would dry in time. She hated having to use a blow dryer, but there was a good chance she was already late. Hair-washing days always took forever, and that was one of the reasons she only did it once a week.
“Are you coming?” Gigi yelled from the hallway, pounding on the bathroom door.
She squirted shine serum into her hand and finger combed it through the bottom of her tresses. Her roommate was so unnecessarily abrasive when Shayler threatened to make them late for a Friday night club crawl. “I need an hour!”
“You have forty-five minutes.”
Now that her curls were done, Shayler searched the mirror for any imperfections. Her crop top showed off some skin, but her jacket covered up most of it. Her jeans were low, but not low enough to reveal her turquoise thong. It was pretty damn good, especially for the wintertime.
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