by E. L. Todd
Cameron stared at her like she was an abstract painting. “Uh…what do you recommend?”
I cocked an eyebrow. He never asked that question.
“Our special of the day is our mahi mahi. Everyone seems to like it,” she said with a smile.
“I’ll take that,” he said.
He didn’t even like fish.
“And you?” she asked as she looked at me.
I looked at Cameron and saw him stare at her chest. “I’ll have the chicken breast.” The jab was directed at him.
“Great.” She took our menus. “It’ll be out soon.” When she walked away, Cameron still stared at her. And I assumed he was staring at her ass.
“How would you feel if I checked out every cute guy that walked by?”
“Huh?” He turned to me, clearly not hearing a word I said because our waitress’s ass was more important.
“Forget it.” I looked out the window. I knew Cameron checked out other women and that didn’t bother me. But to do it right in front of me, and with such enthusiasm was disrespectful.
He didn’t make conversation with me. His eyes searched the restaurant.
“You don’t even like fish.”
He shrugged. “I’ll give it another chance.”
There were a lot of good things about Cameron, but when he pulled shit like this I forgot about them. “Since you’re so interested in our waitress how about you go out with her instead of me?”
He sighed in irritation. “Not this again…”
“I’m being serious.”
“You’re always being serious,” he said in a dark tone.
“I don’t care that you check out other women just don’t do it in front of me. It’s not much to ask for.”
“I wasn’t checking her out,” he argued.
Now I wanted to smack him. “More than anything, I hate lying. Be a man and own up to it.”
“You need to chill out.”
I was starting to boil. “You need to be a better boyfriend. We hardly see each other because we work so much. So when we are around each other, you should pay more attention to me and actually look at me, not the waitress’s rack.”
He rolled his eyes.
“Why are you such a pig?” I hated this side of myself. He brought it out of me and I loathed that fact. I was calm and reserved and it took a lot to make me mad. But Cameron had been pissing me off lately.
When we first started dating a long time ago, I was the only girl in the world who existed. He couldn’t stop staring at me, and he wanted to know every detail of my day. Now he was more interested in waitresses and anything with a vagina. I knew relationships got stale as time wore on but I felt like he wasn’t making an effort anymore.
I started to feel helpless, like Cameron didn’t really care about me. But if that was how I really felt, why was I still in this relationship? I deserved more and I wouldn’t put up with less. “Now that you’re officially single, you can ask out Blondie.” I snatched my purse then stormed out.
“Ophelia!” Cameron called after me.
I kept walking. I was sick of his shit. When I made it out of the restaurant, I felt a little better. I still had twenty minutes left on my lunch break, so I could grab a sandwich and head back to the office.
“Ophelia.” Cameron chased me. “Don’t be like this.”
I turned around and pointed him in the chest. “I’m sick of the way you treat me. We used to be in love but now you just act like I’m a chore. If you’re that entranced by another woman, then I’m obviously not enough to satisfy you. So let’s just walk away from each other—for good. You used to hang onto every word I said, and I used to be the only girl in the room. Now I’m just some bitch that you can’t stand. Well, that’s fine. Have a good life.” I walked away again.
“Don’t be like this.” He grabbed my wrist.
I twisted out of his grasp just as my brother taught me. Then I pushed him back. “If you really wanted me to stick around, you would have looked at me once at lunch. But you didn’t.” I gave him a final glare before I marched up the sidewalk.
This time, he wasn’t stupid enough to follow me.
The second I walked through the door, I tossed my purse on the counter so hard it slid off the table and landed on the floor. Then I kicked my heels off, letting them fly in completely opposite directions. I threw the refrigerator door open and grabbed a beer. Then I downed it like water.
“Had a bad day…?” Max was sitting in the living room with his laptop on the coffee table.
I didn’t even notice him. “You could say that.”
“I can’t even drink a beer that fast.”
“What can I say?” I said coldly. “I’m a natural.”
“Yeah…something is definitely wrong.”
I crossed my arms over my chest and sighed. I wish I wasn’t so worked up over Cameron. He wasn’t worth the heartache.
Max patted the spot beside him on the couch. “Talk to me.”
I grabbed another beer then sat down.
“Start from the beginning.”
“No, I’ll start at the end. I dumped Cameron.”
Both of his eyebrows shot up. “Why?”
“Because he’s a fucking dick. That’s why.”
“Give me more than that,” he said calmly.
Just thinking about it pissed me off. “When we were at lunch today, he kept checking out the waitress. And not discreetly or quickly, but blatantly staring at her rack and her ass like I didn’t exist. Then he ordered fish when he hates fish, just because she recommended it. When she was gone, all he did was search for her. It was like I didn’t exist. He didn’t even bother starting a conversation with me. We’re so different than what we used to be. So, I stormed out and told him we were done. He tried to chase me but I threatened to emasculate him if he did.”
Max nodded but didn’t say anything.
“I hate him.” I didn’t mean it. But I was so mad I thought I did. All I wanted was for him to treat me the way he used to in the beginning of our relationship. I was his entire life. Now I was…I didn’t even know what I was.
“You made the right decision,” Max said calmly. “If you aren’t happy, you shouldn’t be in that relationship.”
“I’ve never cared about him checking out other women. It doesn’t bother me. But to do it in front of me…it was just…mean.”
“It would bother anyone, Ophelia,” he agreed. “But when people are in loving relationships, they don’t check out other people.”
“They don’t?” I asked.
“Do you?”
When I thought about it, I realized I didn’t. “No…”
“When you’re in love, everyone else fades to the background. It’s not rocket science to know someone is attractive, but to actively check them out is a different situation.”
“Is that how you feel about Jett?” He was one of the most handsome men I’d ever seen. It was a shame to all the women in the world that he was gay.
“Yeah,” he said after a pause. “Why would I check out other men when I have him?”
“Yeah…”
“I know you’re my sister and I know I’m gay, but you’re a beautiful woman, Ophelia. Even I will admit that. You’re cool, like one of the guys, but you’re also a strong, independent, and brave woman. Any guy would kill to have you. The fact Cameron doesn’t appreciate you is a sign that the relationship is over—it’s been over the moment he undervalued you.”
My brother always made me feel better without even trying. “Thanks…”
“Of course.” He patted my shoulder then dropped the embrace.
“You love this guy?” I asked.
“I do,” he said with a nod.
“I’m so jealous. You guys are happy and in love…I can’t get a guy to feel that way about me if I tried.”
He shook his head. “You aren’t the problem. You just haven’t found the right guy.”
3
Jett
�
�I’m not kidding. This chick is the most beautiful fucking thing in the world.”
River drank his beer with an incredulous look on his face. “That’s a bold statement.”
“I know it is,” I said immediately. “And it’s damn true.”
“You got a picture?”
“No…that would be weird if I tried to get one.”
He drank his beer then set it on the coaster. “Are you going to go for it?”
“No…I wish I could.”
“Why not?” River asked.
“For one, I can’t break the rules. I already did it once and look what happened…”
“Never forget that incident,” he said with a laugh smile.
“Secondly, her brother told me he would kill me if I ever made a move toward her. He’s really protective of her, not that I blame him. Men must throw themselves at her like crazy.”
“You could take him,” he said dismissively.
“But the biggest problem of all is the fact she thinks I’m gay.”
“Why the hell does she think that?” He almost knocked his beer over as he reacted.
“Because I’m her brother’s escort.”
“Oh…” He nodded in understanding. “Everything is working against you, man.”
“I know. I guess I could wait until my assignment is finished.”
“You just want to fuck her, right?”
“Well, that’s all I can think about when I’m around her. Shit, it’s all I can think about when I’m not around her.”
He rubbed his chin as he looked across the bar. “I’d go for it anyway. Hit on her, fuck her, and tell her to keep it to herself.”
“But that’s the problem,” I said. “If I do go for her, she’ll know her brother paid me to be his boyfriend. I’ll blow his cover. I can’t throw him under the bus like that. He’s a good guy.”
“Then find a beautiful girl to help you forget about her.”
When I scanned the bar, all I saw was a bunch of trolls. “Now that I’ve seen the promise land I don’t want anything else.”
“The attraction will wear off,” he said.
“Or grow more intense,” I said bitterly.
“Let me see this girl,” he said. “Introduce me.”
I gave him a venomous glare. “Just because I can’t fuck her doesn’t mean you can.”
“Hey, don’t take everyone down with you,” he said in mock offense.
I couldn’t get this girl out of my mind. Why did the hottest chick in the world have to present herself now? When I couldn’t have her? I’d give her my best moves and get her in the sack in less than an hour. But now I had to keep my hands to myself—literally.
Max texted me. Want to come over?
Your parents are going to be there? I was surprised they came around so fast. It’d only been a week.
No. I have to keep up pretenses for my sister.
I wanted to see Ophelia but I also didn’t want to see her. Being around her was like being near a fire in the dead of winter. You wanted to get close because you needed that warmth, but when you got too close you got burned instead. I’ll be there soon.
Cool.
When I arrived at his door, he answered it. “Hey.” He pulled me inside and gave me a big hug.
I returned the embrace. “Hey.” I didn’t kiss him because it was against the rules. And I was glad Max obeyed it. No way in hell would I kiss a dude—for any amount of money.
“I missed you.”
Since he was being affectionate, I knew Ophelia was nearby. That made my heart race. “I missed you too.”
“You guys are so cute,” Ophelia said from the couch. She was wearing yoga pants and a t-shirt. Her hair was in a bun but she looked amazing. Her face was free of make up but I preferred her that way. Her eyes sparkled like gems.
“Hey,” I said as I approached the couch. “How are you?”
“Well,” she said. “You?”
“Good.” I stared at her and put my hands in my pockets. It was so hard for me to be platonic toward her. I wanted to sit beside her and give her my best moves. I could charm her and fuck her in no time.
But that wasn’t a possibility.
“I got Battlefield,” Max said. “You want to play?”
“Sure.” Max was the straightest gay guy I knew. He acted just like one of my friends. He was cool, easy to get along with, and he liked beer, sports, and music.
Max set up the game and then we played. I kept glancing at Ophelia. She was reading a book and didn’t pay attention to us. But I paid attention to her. Even when she wore yoga pants, her legs were irresistible. I wanted to rip them off and kiss the area, especially the area between her legs.
My thoughts became so distracting that I got killed—ten times in a row.
“Dude, where’s your head at?”
Between your sister’s legs. “Just haven’t played in a long time…”
“Can I play?” Ophelia asked.
She played video games?
“No,” Max said. “My boyfriend and I are playing.”
“Well, your boyfriend sucks,” she jabbed.
“You think you can do better, sweetheart?” I stopped playing and gave her my darkest smolder.
“I know I can do better,” she challenged.
“Then get your ass over here and prove it.”
“I will.” She moved to the spot next to me then snatched the controller. “Watch.”
I stared at her face and inhaled her scent. I was particularly close to her, close enough for a kiss if Max wasn’t sitting there.
She got into the match then killed Max immediately.
With an astounded expression, I turned to her. “Damn…”
“Told you so.” She stuck her tongue out at me playfully.
I wanted to grab it with my teeth then pull it into my mouth.
They kept playing, and Ophelia was demolishing him.
I decided to even the scales. Honestly, I didn’t care about the game that much. Watching her have serious skill during a video game only heightened my attraction to her. But I wanted a reason to touch her. I stuck my fingers in the area between her ribs and tickled her.
She laughed as she tried to keep playing. “You’re a terrible person.”
I smiled then kept tickling her. I loved the feel of her waist. Her muscles tensed as I touched her, and I could feel the power underneath her clothes. She was slim and her ribcage was tiny. I could wrap my hands completely around her. “No. You’re a terrible player.”
She laughed in a high-pitched away, practically screaming. “Stop.” Tears came out of her eyes. “You’re going to tickle me to death.” She fell off the couch and abandoned her controller, trying to protect her stomach.
I moved down to the floor with her and kept tickling her. “Gotcha.” Being on top of her was making me hard. Her tits shook every time she moved, and a few strands of hair came loose from her bun. They framed her face and made her look like she just finished a night of good sex in my bed. I tried to keep my pelvis away from her so she wouldn’t feel my hard-on through my jeans. That would be bad.
“Are you guys twelve?” Max demanded.
“She laughs like a twelve year old,” I said.
The doorbell rang and I stopped tickling her.
“Expecting anyone?” Max asked as he stood up.
“No,” she said as she tried to catch her breath. She looked up at me with her arms protecting her stomach. “You’re nothing but a big bully.”
Max’s back was to us so I leaned over her and got closer than I normally would. “You haven’t seen anything yet, sweetheart.” My face was dangerously close to hers. I knew I was being reckless but I couldn’t help it. I loved flirting with her.
“I can be a bully too.”
“Oh yeah?” I challenged. “You look like a pushover to me.”
She pushed me in the chest but I didn’t budge. I was a solid slab of steel.
“Never felt anything so hard in your li
fe, huh?”
Her eyes narrowed on my face. “You’re cocky, aren’t you?”
“But I have a reason to be cocky.”
“I beg to differ.”
Max interrupted our banter. “It’s for you.” The door was shut and he stood in front of it.
I quickly got off her and tried to act like I wasn’t discreetly hitting on her.
“Me?” she asked. “Who is it?” She sat up and fixed her hair.
“Cameron.” He crossed his arms over his chest.
Ophelia noticeably stiffened, and not in a good way.
Who was Cameron?
“Get rid of him.” Her voice came out cold. “I don’t want to see him.”
“You got it.” Max walked back outside.
Ophelia returned to the couch and grabbed the controller. “You want to play—without tickling me?”
She acted like there wasn’t a guy outside her door trying to see her.
“Who’s Cameron?” I asked.
“Some asshole,” she said vaguely.
“You want me to take care of it?” I asked seriously. “Because I can make sure he doesn’t bother you again.”
“I’m sure Max can handle it.” She started the game.
Knowing some guy was bothering her pissed me off. I wasn’t sure why.
Max came back inside. “He refuses to leave until you talk to him.”
“Then he can stand out there until I go to work tomorrow morning.”
Damn right, he can.
“Do what you want, Ophelia,” Max said. “But in my experience, people don’t usually give up until they have a face-to-face conversation.”
“We already had one of those,” she said coldly.
“It’s just some friendly advice.”
I tossed my controller on the couch. “I’ll take care of it.”
Both Max and Ophelia stared at me.
I crossed the living room then walked outside. A guy my height was pacing in the hallway. His hands were in his pockets and he looked stressed, like something important was on the line. He was less muscular than I was, but he was a decent looking guy, no comparison to me, of course.
He turned to me when he noticed me. “Who are you—”
