by Emilia Finn
“We were texting. Then he told me to call him when Evie goes to bed.”
Izzy sucks in her breath, slapping her hands over her mouth. “You had phone sex?”
“Can y’all shut up?”
“Sorry,” she says on a giggle.
“Yeah, so we had phone sex.” I tell them quickly, joining in when they break down in laughter. “Then near the, ah, important bits--”
“When you’re about to come,” Tink supplies brazenly.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, so I kinda told him I wished it was him. So he got in his truck--”
Kit snorts. “No wonder he was racing out the gates!”
“Yeah, so he got to my house in about three seconds flat, and by that point I was mostly beyond being sensible. So I opened my door to him.” I turn around to flag down Lacey the waitress for another drink.
“Then what?” Tink asks.
“What the hell do you mean then what?”
“Don’t skip the details, dummy. We want them all.”
“You don’t.”
“We definitely do!” Tink pushes.
Shit. How much is too much information?
“So…” I hedge, wondering if I’ll just let it all out and purge myself of the details that I’ve been dying to shout about since it happened. “So, I opened the door, he picked me up and put me on the kitchen table.”
“Oh my god,” Izzy says quietly, her face turning pink.
“He ate me out on the table. Then he took me to bed, I sucked his dick, he fucked me till I wanted to pass out. Then I did pass out.”
“Holy shit!” Kit shouts, turning heads our way again.
“So you got it all. You had Aiden Kincaid’s dick in your mouth.”
I close my eyes at Tink’s words, both because her subtlety is lacking, and because she reminded me and sent flutters straight through my stomach.
“Yep.”
“Was he all that?”
“He was all that and more,” I tell them, feeling the flutters fly south. I wish he was all that and more in my panties again right now. “Then the next morning he took Evie next door to the bakery to get us breakfast, and I woke up to an empty house. I panicked and ran around searching for her. Then when I found him bringing her back upstairs I flipped my shit.”
“He feels awful about that,” Iz says, her face sad, like Kit and Tink’s, all three mirroring my own feelings.
“Yeah, I feel pretty awful too. I was mean and I sent him away.”
“So you’re both sorry,” Kit supplies. “Why not just say sorry and then have more sex?”
“Well he texted me that afternoon. Said to call him when I’m ready.”
“That’s good then--”
“I didn’t call.” I sigh. “It’s been a week, I didn’t reply and I haven’t heard from him again.” And tonight was supposed to be our date. The fact we haven’t spoken all week meaning we didn’t confirm, and we didn’t go. I miss him.
“Jesus, no wonder he’s been moping around the gym,” Iz says. “He’s been pissy all week. Training hard, but quieter than usual. Which is super quiet, since he already didn’t waste his breath speaking unless he had to.”
“Yeah, so that’s on me. I was a bitch.”
“So why’d you freak?” Kit asks softly. “I know you have trust issues, so I get that you did. But why? You promised you’d tell us one day.”
I did promise.
Lacey drops by our table again with a fresh round, and surprising the girls, I drink mine in one go, then sitting it down, I look back up.
And I tell them my story. All of it.
I tell them about Sean Frankston. About the money. About the drugs. About the abuse. About my scars and how they got there. About how I thought I’d killed him, and that I wished I had. I still wish I had.
“Holy shit,” Tink says, no longer joking or teasing me. Her face has actually turned white. “Fuck me, sideways, Tina. No wonder you’re twitchy.”
“Wait, so you were born Sarah, and Evie was Katie… will you ever go back to your old names?”
I shake my head even before Kit finishes her question. “Nah, we like our new life, our new names.”
“Are they legal?”
“Nope,” I tell her, feeling my palms sweat again. “Not legal, which means everything is paid in cash. No emergency room visits for me. No weddings in my future. None of it.”
“What happens if you--”
“He finds us,” I tell Izzy. “He finds us and he hurts us.”
“Hello girls.”
At the sound of a deep male voice, we all turn to see a group of four guys standing near us, their smiles actually quite genuine and charming.
“I’m Marcus,” the first one says, stretching his hand out toward me and I hesitantly take it. “Luca, Angelo and Scotch.” He nods to the other three.
“Scotch?” Tink asks as Scotch approaches her side.
“That’s not my real name.” He pastes on a charming smile, winking at her, and Tink’s lip quivers against a laugh. She’s had badass Jonathan Hart winking at her for years. Anything else is just… other.
“We were hoping to introduce ourselves and perhaps buy you a drink,” one of the others says, Luca, I think.
“Oh, no--”
“Yes, thank you.” Tink cuts Kit off and I watch as Kit and Izzy’s eyes go round with shock. “We definitely need more drinks at this table after that little bedtime story.”
“I’m sorry,” Kit says as Luca stands a little close to her. “I’m married. So, not interested, but thank you.”
“That’s okay, doll. I don’t need to get laid by every girl I buy a drink for.” He doesn’t sound bitter at all. He actually sounds genuine.
“Even with absolutely zero chance?” she presses with a smile. “Not even a little bit. Zero doubt. No chance.”
“Scouts honor.” He lifts his hand to his brow with a smirk. “We do have a secret though.”
“God, what?” I’m tired of the charade already. There’s always a catch.
“The guys over there,” Scotch nods subtly toward the rowdy bachelor party. “They were getting a little excited about the party of four at this table. Especially the barely legal one.”
Iz turns on Tink, chastising with a furrowed brow. “Tink!”
“Luca and Scotch and me,” Marcus continues from beside me. “We all have sisters, and we’d prefer it if other guys came to help them if needed, and not even expect to get laid as payment.”
“You’re serious right now?” Tink asks.
“Serious.” Angelo nods. “Just hang with us for a bit. We promise not to hit on you,” he says, nodding at Kit and she smiles. “But you,” he turns to Izzy and she laughs, stepping back.
“I’m also married.” She shows him her ring and his smile wavers, but his eyes are alight with laughter.
“That’s a shame. I don’t have any sisters to feel protective over, but hey, man code. You’re married, so you’re my sister now.”
“You’re not bullshitting?” I ask them, still smelling a turd.
“Nah, we’re actually pretty cool guys,” Scotch says, flagging Lacey down for more drinks. “So we’ll hang until the dicks over there take a hint, then we’ll leave you be. Promise.”
“Well shit,” I throw out sarcastically, still feeling raw since spilling my guts about Sean. “This is refreshing.”
“I can dig it,” Tink says. “My name is Casey--”
“Her name is Tink,” Iz interrupts. “My name is Izzy, and that’s Kit and Tina.”
“Tina,” Marcus murmurs from beside me, moving closer and brushing my arm with his. “Are you married?”
“Ah, no, I’m not.”
“Because, we are good guys. And we don’t have to get laid, but if you’re single, perhaps we can dance or something?”
“Ah--”
“Marcus,” Tink speaks up from across the table. “She’s not married, but she does have a kid, and she’s in what we would call a ‘complicate
d’ relationship.”
Smiling again, a total good sport about it he mutters, “That’s a shame.” And he shrugs. “What’s your kid’s name?”
“I’m not in a relationship,” I argue, but I sigh when his smile tells me it’s already too complicated. “Her name is Evie, she’s almost four. And I’m not in a relationship--”
“But she slept with my brother last weekend,” Iz adds on a giggle.
All four guys look up at me with wolfish grins and I shake my head.
“It’s definitely complicated then.” Scotch laughs. “So that’s three down, one to go. Tink, single, married, complicated or gay?”
“I’m single with an occasional non-exclusive fuck buddy.”
“Her non-exclusive fuck buddy is another of my brothers,” Iz says and Scotch’s eyes snap to hers.
“That’s two brothers. Lucky guys,” he says, turning fully to face Tink and running his finger along her arm.
Lacey brings our drinks and we all hang for an hour or so, and I’m pleased to find they’re actually pretty funny guys. And apart from Scotch hitting on Tink, the others are perfectly respectful and don’t grab our asses or boobs once.
We find out that all four guys make up a band, some punk rock stuff, and they’re at 188 to try and get into live gigs.
They all lose their heads over the fact Kit and Izzy fight, and Kit even has a few leftover bruises to show off to prove her point.
“So we didn’t have to come save the day at all,” Angelo says on a laugh. “Here we thought we were all chivalrous and manly and shit, protecting the womenfolk, and it turns out you’re fighters, married to fighters. I’ve never felt so redundant in my life.”
“But we appreciate your efforts,” Kit says kindly. “And the good karma will hopefully roll around for your sisters.”
“That’s a happy thought,” Marcus says, his shoulder brushing mine since we’re all huddled around the small table.
“You should send them to our gym,” Iz says. “Tell them to ask for one of us and we’ll hook a sister up.”
“Yeah, which gym?”
“Rollin On,” Iz answers wistfully.
“You train there? That’s sick,” Angelo says excitedly. “You know the Kincaid’s?”
“Ah--”
“They’re so badass. Did you see Bobby Kincaid’s fight last year? It was perfect, that flip.”
“Ah, yeah, we saw it,” Iz says, biting her smile.
“This is probably where we tell you their last names,” I laugh when Iz bites her knuckles. “Ah, Izzy Kincaid.”
“No fucking way!” Scotch spins on his feet, forgetting Tink and locking Iz into his sight.
“And Kit Kincaid.” I nod toward Kit and Scotch spins again.
“No. Fucking. Way.”
“And the brothers that they’re having casual sex with-”
“Are here. Shit.” The panic in Tink’s tone grabs my attention immediately. “Shit. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.”
“What’s up?” Marcus scans the room. His face turns ghostly white as he stops on something over my left shoulder. “Oh shit.”
“We gotta go.” Tink grabs Kit’s hand. “Izzy, start moving girl or we’re all dead.”
I look over the crowd and spot three Kincaid’s and Jon rolling in and scanning the room. Because that’s what they do. They don’t enter. They don’t walk. They roll in, a tidal wave of masculinity, such is their presence.
My eyes land on Aiden immediately, because he’s hot as fuck, standing there in a black button up and black pants. No hat tonight, so his shadowed eyes look even more dangerous for not being hidden. “Oh shit.”
The silver glints meet mine at the same second my arm is tugged down and I find myself duck walking across the floor, my panties probably showing to the world.
Seventeen
Aiden
Busted
I bite my lip when I spot Tina’s hair go flying, as she spins on her heel then vanishes from sight.
I see the table the girls were at a moment ago. The four scrawny guys, their artsy man buns and trendy jeans. I relish the way their faces turn white as they land on mine.
Thankfully my brothers haven’t spotted all this yet, since they’re all looking toward the bar and not the edge of the room where the girls were.
The girls have escaped wrath by the skin of their teeth, because I sure as shit won’t be telling Jon that I saw Tink chatting with some guy with a nose ring.
I won’t be telling Bobby that Kit was laughing with some fucker and showing her battle wounds, the bruising that’s still fading on her forearms.
And I sure as hell won’t be telling Jimmy that Iz was smiling at a guy with a man bun. Jim’s hair is already long enough, I don’t want to encourage the dumbass to start tying it into buns and shit.
“Go get us a drink?” I ask the others, keeping their gazes on the bar and not towards the girls as they duck walk across the room then pop up at an empty booth. They fix their hair and throw their purses on the table, feigning an air of innocence.
They’re idiots.
I walk toward the guy that was standing hip to hop with Peaches and I enjoy the way his adams apple bobs, nerves radiating, seeping from his pores. I can easily picture the bead of sweat trickling down his spine right now. I stop only a foot from him and I wait for his eyes to meet mine. They take a fuckuva long time.
“Hey.”
“Uh, hey,” he says shyly. “You must be Complicated.”
My eyes narrow in confusion. “What were you doing with my girls?”
“We were just talking, man. Swear.”
My head snaps away from the first one and stops on nose ring guy. “What’s your name?”
“My name’s Scotch.”
My brows pull together. “Scotch? Like Scotland?”
“Ah no, like, the drink. I got real drunk on it one time when I was seventeen. I hurled everywhere and killed my mama’s roses.”
“That’s unfortunate.”
“Yeah, I can’t drink it anymore. Makes me wanna spew just smelling it.”
“Cool story. What were you doing with my sister?”
He gulps again, devastated we’re no longer talking about his mama’s garden. “Nothing, I swear. Your girls told us they were taken straight up.”
Even Tina?
“So why’re you still here?” Guys don’t just hang around girls for shits and giggles. They’re looking for something.
“Cause the dicks over there are eyeing them off like they were wolves and your girls were nicknamed Red.”
“Which guys?”
Scotch nods his chin toward a group of rowdy and drunk as fuck guys and sure as shit, those wolves are staring at the girls’ newly occupied table.
“Right.” I nod. “Good looking out. Thanks.”
“Hey…” one of the others says, stopping me from stepping away.
“Aiden.”
“Fuck me, you’re Aiden Kincaid.”
“Yeah, I know who I am. Do I know you?”
“Ah no, I’m Ang. But I know you. I’ve seen you on YouTube. Best jitsu around.”
“Yeah, well, Ang. You were just hitting on my baby sister. Tell me why I shouldn’t roll right over your face? You’re lucky it was me that found you and not her husband.”
“Aiden,” the first guy drags my attention away from a shaking Angelo. “Ah, I’m Marcus… You should know, they’re good girls. They didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I know that.”
“You do?”
“Fuck yes. They’re good girls. I trust them.”
“Oh, well,” he coughs awkwardly. “Good then.”
“Yep, I got it from here. Cheers.”
I walk away from the table as four separate, audible sighs of relief sound behind me and I bite my smile.
My brothers are so damn rowdy and cocky, it’s been a long ass time since I’ve had anyone shaking in their boots. It’s good for my ego.
I walk toward the girls’ new table, th
ree of the four of them are busy studying their nails, but Tina watches me approach, not shying away from my glare or my swagger.
I definitely needed my ego stroked by those guys, considering this girl hasn’t called me since we fucked each other to oblivion.
I feel like the needy chick, waiting by the phone for the school jock to call.
But she’s cool as hell, hanging with her cool friends and not even giving me a second thought.
Fuck.
“Girls.” I stop in front of their table and watch the guilt flash across their features. Well, not Tina’s. Cool as a fucking cucumber.
Izzy crosses her arms across her chest petulantly and I fight my smile. “What are you doing here?”
“We wanted to party.”
“You wanted to party,” Tink begins, her voice coated with attitude. “On the same night as us. In the same club as us?”
“Happy coincidence,” I shrug my shoulders casually, then I sit next to Tina, forcing her to scoot.
“My ass.” Tink mumbles at the same moment the other guys arrive.
“Baby.” Bobby lifts Kit from her seat and swings her into his arms. “You look beautiful.”
He presses her face between his hands then kisses her indecently, his hand slithering down to her ass and squeezing.
Tink slides out of the booth so Jim can slide in next to Iz. They turn in towards each other, pawing at each other like he just got back from war.
Jon sets down a tray of drinks, enough for everyone, then he sits down next to Tink, throwing his arm over her shoulder arrogantly, even as she rolls her eyes and tries to move away. Too bad Jimmy’s in the way.
“You girls having fun?” I bite back a smile again when guilt flashes across their features.
I’m yet to talk to Peaches, but I feel her there, I see her watching me like I was a total stranger. Fuck that, I had my face covered with Peach Pussy a week ago. We’re no strangers.
“We’re gonna go dance,” Bobby announces, taking Kit away before anyone even says a word.
“Yeah,” Tink says arrogantly. “We were having fun.”
“You drinking Scotch, Tink?”
Her eyes flash, narrowing at me and glaring. “No, I’m not. Didn’t have time.”
