by Piper Rayne
While my pencil sketches the design, I imagine where I’d ink her if the choice was mine. Her right ribcage would hurt more than somewhere else, but as I curved it around and under her breast, it would be beautiful. Even if I’m only going off of the few times I’ve seen her wear a bikini when she and Sierra sunbathed on the roof.
As soon as that thought comes to mind, I reprimand myself for thinking about that part of her body. I need to get a grip on my feelings for her. The attraction remained in that box I kept under double locks until Jax arrived. The more he flirts with her, the more a King Kong version of me wants to kidnap her.
What bothers me is that I have no idea if this is Jax’s way of reliving the past or if he truly likes her. If he does, he’s more man than me to pursue her without any guilt that she’s too perfect for him to mess up.
But that’s Jax—he does now and thinks later. It’s the greatest difference between us. Where I get lost in my head, he acts without thinking, hurting innocent people.
I can’t protect Rian, but if I want her, I’d better be able to suffer the consequences.
The next morning, I’m sure that Rian won’t be up. It’s Sunday, and the only dumbass who will work out with me is the other single guy in our friend group, Seth. So when I come face to face with Rian as she opens the bathroom door, I’m surprised.
She doesn’t see me at first, probably still half asleep. Her matching T-shirt and shorts pajama set clings to her figure. Her hair is thrown up in a messy ponytail and a chunk of strands have fallen out of it. There’s even a dry line from drool off her mouth. She’s adorable.
“Dylan!” She startles, her hands releasing her ponytail holder, allowing her hair to cascade down her shoulders.
“Go back to bed. I’m heading to the gym.” I walk by her and grab my water from the fridge.
“So early? Take a day off.” Her voice is still rough from sleep.
I say nothing, but she’s waiting by her door as I shove the water into my bag. Her gaze follows me, but as soon as I look her in the eye, she stares at the floor.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Yeah. Um…”
We stand across the room from one another, me waiting for her to say what she needs to. “Is something wrong?”
She shakes her head. “I just wanted to let you know—I mean, it’s not a huge deal. But with this roommate situation, you need to be in the loop. You probably don’t even care—”
“Spit it out,” I say.
Her eyes fix on mine. “Jax asked me out on a date. We’re supposed to go tonight.”
My stomach drops. He’s made the first move. I’m surprised, but I’m not. This is how Jax works.
I smack on the fakest smile I can at this time in the morning. “Cool. Have fun.”
Her hands twist in front of her. “You’re okay with it?”
“Does it matter?”
She’s quiet but observant. Her deep inhales suggest she’s not sure how she should act right now.
“It’s great. Have a great time. Seth’s waiting for me.” I thumb at the door and hightail it out of there before I climb over all the furniture to smash my own lips to hers and beg her not to go out with him. The problem with that move is, what the hell do I back it up with? Wait for me? Wait for what? For me to get my head out of my ass?
I rush out the door to find Seth sitting on the floor outside his door, waiting for me. His gray hoodie is over his head and his phone is in his hands. I glance at the screen to see an Instagram post of a curly dark-haired girl holding a tray of bagels.
“Good morning,” I announce myself.
He looks up, quickly turning off his screen. “This is ridiculous. It’s Sunday.” He pushes up off the floor. “I was up half the night listening to Knox fuck like a damn porn star.”
I laugh because back in high school, Knox earned the nickname Ron Jeremy. He’s a cop now, but back then, indecent exposure wasn’t something he had an issue with. He’d screw a girl on the park bench if she let him. Then again, back then he was going through as much shit as the rest of us.
“Well, get ready for a good workout. Rian just told me Jax asked her out.” I step into the elevator.
Seth stands idly in the hallway, his jaw hanging open. I grab his sweatshirt strings and drag him into the elevator.
“That’s low.”
I press the ground floor button. “Is it really? I mean, she’s not seeing anyone.”
“Yeah, but anyone who’s around you guys knows…”
His words drift off because this isn’t something we’ve ever talked about. I flirt with Rian, and yeah, I’ve felt that maybe she might like me. But I’ve kept my feelings close to my chest because anyone can predict the outcome of the two of us in a relationship.
We head out of the apartment building and down the street toward the gym.
“I think it’s time you’re truthful with her,” Seth says, repositioning his bag over his shoulder.
I want to ask him if he’s ready to admit why he’s following Evan Erickson or the Bagel Place on Instagram if he hates her that much. “I’m not into losing friendships at the moment.”
We walk into the gym. A guy who’s roughly our age takes our cards and says good morning. We return his greeting and make our way to the locker room.
“You’d rather risk the chance that she and Jax start dating? What are you gonna do? Watch them make out during Blue Bloods?” He strips off his track pants and sweatshirt, shoving them into the locker.
I shrug. “I’ll move back in with you and Knox.” Easiest solution ever.
“Sorry, man, Leilani is paying your rent now. I guess she needed a place and Knox offered her your old room.”
I lock my locker, grab my towel and water, and follow Seth to the treadmills. “Why didn’t I know this?”
He shrugs, positioning all his shit exactly where he wants it. He pins his key to his shorts. “Because it didn’t matter. Not like you consulted us when you moved out to protect Rian from Jax. The same guy you’re laying down on the pavement so he can turn you into roadkill.”
I up my speed and incline. Screw warming up.
Seth’s not like Ethan though, so he doesn’t compete with me. The fucker takes a leisurely Sunday stroll on his machine.
“I have no right to stop her.” I’m talking more to myself than Seth.
He waves to the girl who’s always folding towels. “You do have a right. You’re her friend. You have her best interests in mind. It’s piss or get off the pot time.”
I shake my head, starting to sweat. I can’t admit that I’m being a pussy here. She’s the only one of my friends that I’ve told about Winnie and my upbringing. There’s a reason for that. Somehow, I know I can trust her with the information, and I know it’ll never be slung back at me. To put a relationship like that in jeopardy for a few orgasms seems moronic.
“Let’s talk about something else. How about the Bagel Place?”
Seth rolls his eyes, slowly walking as he waves to everyone as though he’s running for office or something. “Don’t turn this on me. You’re the one with the girl problems. Which is funny when you think about it. When we first moved in together, I idolized you and all the women you got. Now you’re wound up tight over one. I’m enjoying sitting on the sidelines.” He waves and says hello to Joe, an elderly man who’s here on the bicycle every morning.
I up his speed without him realizing and he fumbles to keep up, falling off the back of the treadmill.
Payback is a bitch.
Chapter Eleven
Rian
“A date?” Blanca’s eyes light up.
“With Jax?” The disgust in Sierra’s voice tells me where her allegiance lies.
“He asked.” I sit in Sierra’s plush living room on Sunday afternoon. I guess when you date a prince, you end up living a cushy lifestyle.
“Is that the only reason you’re going out with him?” Blanca asks. She’s sitting cross-legged and reading a bridal magazine. They’v
e yet to set a date, though I know she’s getting pressure from her mom about having a big Italian wedding.
“No.” I fall over on the couch, clutching a pillow to my stomach. I wish Dylan was the one who had asked me out, but I have no control over him. The look on his face this morning when I told him made me think for a second that he didn’t want me to go. Then he smiled and said it was cool. “He’s a funny guy actually.”
“I ran into him in the elevator the other day. He asked me why I would want to get married.” Blanca’s face shows no emotion, I’m not sure where her mind is. “I had three commitment-phobe brothers. I’m familiar with the type.”
“See!” Sierra refills our glasses of wine.
Blanca raises her hand. “But I’ve also witnessed what happens when they find a woman who brings them to their knees, so I can say with confidence that sometimes the playboy falls.”
“Hardly ever—except in a romance novel.” Sierra sits next to Blanca and points at the open page of the magazine. “Beautiful.”
“Too revealing.” Blanca flips the page. “Shall I remind you that you’re with a prince who didn’t exactly keep his dick in his pants?”
Sierra smiles as if she’s remembering something. It’s common knowledge that she and Adrian slept together their first night together. Not that any of us care, but if he was like that with her, I’m sure there were girls before her.
“Where is he anyway?” I ask.
“Sandsal. Gets in tonight.” Another million-dollar smile is on Sierra’s lips. Adrian has to go back and forth to his country on occasion until everything is done and the new rules of the monarchy are official. Long story that I don’t care to get into. Sierra points at another page in the magazine. “Oh, I like that one.”
Blanca turns the magazine so that I can see it and we both laugh.
“What?” Sierra asks.
“That’s you, not Blanca.” The dress is a skintight mermaid-style design. Blanca is more a fairytale Cinderella-style dress girl. As for me, I have no idea what I would want to wear.
“Sometimes you have to go outside your comfort zone,” Sierra says. “You have the body.” She stands and disappears into the kitchen.
A little of the tension releases with Sierra’s departure, though it’s not because of her. Sierra and I met in college, and I was intimidated. She had a quick tongue, never afraid to tell people what she was thinking. Her personality was loud and boisterous. You either hated her or loved her. I guess you can be drawn to your opposite, because I never cared if I stood in her shadow or was drowned out by her ability to control everything. In some ways, I envy that side of her. If Jax had cornered her in the grocery store, she would’ve known exactly how to react. Whereas my comebacks come twenty minutes later.
“I’m kind of nervous,” I say to Blanca.
She looks up from her magazine, shuts it, and scoots closer. “Why?”
I shrug, sipping my wine. “He’s forward.”
Blanca’s lips turn down. “I’m not sure this is such a good idea. I mean, if you still like Dylan and you’re trying to get a reaction from him, what if you don’t get the one you’re looking for?”
She sips her wine as I recall my day with Dylan in New York City. When he took me to his foster mom’s grave. How much he divulged to me. More than he has with anyone else as far as I know. I almost understand how someone growing up like that could leave someone scared to lose anyone they care for.
“I’m not trying to get a reaction out of him.” The words feel like a blatant lie coming off my tongue, but I have to save some face. “I think maybe it’s time I move on.”
There’s a little truth to my words. I’ve been pining away for Dylan for years, and though I did hope for a reaction from him, maybe it really is time to accept that nothing’s ever going to happen between us. I can’t put my life on hold forever, hoping that will change.
Blanca nods. “True enough. See what else is out there.”
I twist my hands in my lap. “But Jax doesn’t bite his tongue, and you know me. I’m slow on the uptake. I’m polite to a fault.”
“Oh, Rian.” She puts down her wine and slides over, wrapping her arm around my shoulders. “If you’re not comfortable, don’t go. If you want to go, then just be straight with him. If you’re uncomfortable, call me. I grew up with three brothers—I know exactly where to hurt them.”
I laugh, understanding what she’s saying. “It’s just… what am I going to wear? A cardigan and mom jeans?”
“Dramatic much?” Blanca says.
Sierra comes out with a tray of cheese and crackers and grapes.
“We’re not royalty,” Blanca says, laughing and sharing a look with me. “I’d happily take chips and guacamole.”
“Well, this is what I have. Believe me, if I served this to the queen, she’d probably turn her nose up at it.” She falls into the couch and appraises Blanca’s arm around my shoulders. Her finger waggles between us. “What’s going on?”
“Rian’s a little nervous.”
Blanca says it nicely, but in truth, my heart has drummed all day whenever I think about the date.
“I’m not his type,” I say.
“You don’t even know his type,” Sierra says, which I guess is technically true, but I checked his Instagram account. There’s definitely a specific type of woman he hangs out with.
“I have no tattoos. There’s nothing edgy or sexy about me.” I could keep going, but Sierra’s eyes widening with excitement stops me.
“Uh oh,” Blanca says, laughing because we’ve seen that look on Sierra’s face more than once. The last time was when she decided to enter a contest to win a date with Prince Adrian Marx. Of course, that worked out pretty well for her. “What are you thinking?”
“Makeover!” Sierra tosses the rest of the cracker into her mouth and springs up off the couch, her hand on my arm pulling me up. “Come on.”
“Like what kind of makeover?” I say, allowing her to tug me off the couch.
Blanca follows us.
“Nothing crazy. We’ll just show off your amazing body a little more than you usually do. Maybe some more dramatic makeup.”
Before I can blink, I’m on Sierra’s bed and she’s lost in her closet. Blanca runs her hand down my arm, shooting me a sympathetic smile before joining Sierra in her closet.
This could go two ways. Either I’m more confident—like the time in college when Sierra dressed me for a party and the star quarterback actually cornered me to talk the majority of the night—or it goes bad. Like Halloween of our junior year, when she convinced me to dress in a slutty nurse costume and I ended up getting a taxi home midway through the night because I couldn’t handle all the stares and inappropriate touches by asshole frat boys. Sometimes it’s a curse we’re the same size.
Sierra comes out with a stack of clothes on hangers. “Did he say what to wear?”
“Casual,” I say, shaking my head at her gown. “Let’s get back to reality here. I’m not dating a prince, so no need for an actual ballgown.”
Sierra laughs.
“Casual, so jeans?” Blanca asks.
I nod.
“But heels,” Sierra says, holding her finger up and diving back into her closet.
“I haven’t worn heels since I got dragged to that frat formal in college when you made me be Trey Longfield’s date because you were going with his best friend.”
Sierra comes out with a pair of black suede boots with a stiletto heel that will probably snap the first time I twist my ankle.
“Why can’t I wear my flats? That’s casual.”
Sierra blows out a breath and Blanca nibbles on the inside of her cheek.
“Come on, it will be fun to dress a little outside of your usual,” Blanca says. “Sierra promises not to go too crazy, right, Sierra?”
“Definitely. You’re gorgeous. We’re just upping the look a little because it’s a first date.”
I release a breath. Maybe a new look will give me more
confidence. “Fine. But no crazy makeup. I’m not Sandy from Grease.”
They both laugh.
Sierra pretends to stomp out a cigarette and says, “Tell me about it, stud.”
Then she saunters back into the closet, and I succumb to her and Blanca’s suggestions.
Two hours later, I emerge from the bathroom. The girls jump off the bed.
“Are you ready?” Sierra asks.
I nod. I haven’t looked at myself in the full-length mirror yet, so I turn to check myself out. I’m wearing ripped tight jeans with a tight body suit. Somehow, I’m managing to walk in Sierra’s black boots that have an opening at the toes, but they make me about three inches taller.
They both look at me from behind through the mirror.
“I’m not sure. I’m super tall,” I say.
“Jax is huge. You’re fine,” Blanca says.
My hair is curled in long tendrils and my makeup is smokier and darker than I ever wear it, but my lipstick isn’t nearly as dark as I anticipated Sierra would go. All in all, I love the look. Not that I’d do this daily, which makes me feel as though I’m falsely advertising myself.
“Sierra!” Adrian’s voice booms through the apartment, and her eyes go huge.
“I’ll be right back,” she says and rushes out of the room.
“Let’s go before they start having sex while we’re still here and we end up stuck in this bedroom,” Blanca says, grabbing her purse off the bed.
I collect my stuff and we walk out of the bedroom. Sierra is attached to Adrian like a koala bear, casting kisses on every part of his face, his hands plastered to her ass.
He glances over her shoulder. “Ladies.”
“Hey, Adrian,” Blanca and I say in unison.
“We’ll be leaving the two of you alone,” I say.
Blanca slides by them to the front door.
