by Nana Malone
I choked. “What?”
She frowned then shook her head. “No, no. Oh my God.” She clapped her hands over her mouth. “I mean, make blow jobs, the drink. Shit.”
I fell out laughing. I laughed so hard tears ran from the corners of my eyes. I couldn’t hold it in. I had to stop and hand her my gelato so I could clutch my sides. “Oh my God, that was the funniest shit I’ve heard all week. That was outstanding.”
“I’m so embarrassed.”
“You don’t get to be embarrassed about this. After you called me a ‘little-dicked twat monkey’ the first time we met, you don’t get to be embarrassed. You get to own it and laugh appropriately.”
“Anyway, I’ve learned how to make drinks.” She giggled. “Okay, yeah, it’s funny.”
“See, I told you it was funny.”
“Yeah, you’re right. So, what’s your dating situation? Leaving dropped panties all over Manhattan?”
“I will have you know that I am selective about where I leave my dropped panties. I mean, I have favorite pairs, after all.”
She giggled. I could tell, despite herself, she was starting to like me. “God, are you never serious?”
“Nope, why should I be? Life is hard enough. I’m going to joke my way through it, for the most part.”
“It just makes it hard to get a straight answer out of you. Are you telling me you’ve never had a girlfriend?”
I frowned then. Like a real girlfriend? For some reason, the lie that easily sat on the tip of my tongue didn’t come. Instead, I shook my head. “No. Not really.”
She stared at me. “How old are you?”
“Twenty-three.”
“And you’ve never had a girlfriend? You know, someone you hold hands with, take to movies, that kind of thing?”
I wanted to lie. I itched to lie, but somehow this felt more important, like I couldn’t. Like at this moment, I should opt to tell the truth. “No.”
“How is that possible? Even when you were like a teenager or something?”
In my head, I pictured guys going to the movies, parties with girls, and all that shit.
“No, never. I moved around a lot when I was a kid.” The truth was that by the average dating of age of say, fifteen or sixteen, I was already running long cons. And Tony already had me working the angles with the trust fund girls. Girls like Bryna, who I had no business being near. But I looked older than my age and it worked, so he’d used it.
“No, but we’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you. One thing I have experience with is dating, actual dating. You know, where you meet a guy who takes you out, you have fun, you have normal conversation, and then he takes you home for a wild night of sex.”
She smacked me on the arm. “We will not be having a wild night of sex.”
“Just why the hell not?” It was worth a shot.
“I don’t like players.”
“You made it very clear that I’m not your type. You don’t like hot.”
She snort-laughed then. And fuck me, it was the cutest thing I’d ever seen. “So, what, you’re going to teach me how to date normal people?”
“Why not? I think it’s a fantastic idea.”
“It’s a terrible idea.” Then she scrunched up her nose, inhaled deep, and acquiesced. “Okay. Give me all the pointers.”
I shook my head. “That’s not how this works, Kemosabe. How it works is that we’re going to mock-date. I take you out, show you how you’re supposed to be treated, and you will give me real reactions. Then I’ll guide you on the right and normal way to do it.”
Fire. I was playing with it and I didn’t care.
She stopped and lifted a brow, eyeing me up and down. “Oh really? I’m supposed to trust you?”
“Yes. I won’t ever lie to you.”
Her gaze searched mine. “Are you capable of such a promise?”
“I am. If you promise to be open and unfailingly honest.”
“You mean with my verbal vomit? Who wants that?”
I grinned down at her. “Tell me, what do you have to lose?”
She considered this for a moment and bit her lip. “Okay, fine. You’re right. I’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s do it.”
“All righty then, let’s go. Your first date experience is tonight.”
21
Lucas
I only gave her an hour to get ready. While she hopped in the shower, I ran across the hall to see Marcus and Roone. When Marcus opened the door, he didn’t look pleased. “Are you nuts?”
From inside, I heard Roone call out. “Is that the nutter?”
“Yeah, it’s me.”
Roone came out wearing sweats like he was about to work out. “Are you mad?”
“Look, Roone—" I held up my hands. They had a right to be pissed. I hadn’t given them much time to scramble to get security together, and then I’d slipped the noose. “I know I made your job harder today, and I’m sorry.”
Roone glared at me. “You made my job harder? Are you insane?”
“Look, it was fine. We were fine.”
He glared at me once more, punctuating every word with a pointing finger in my direction. “Fine? You were in Battery City, Alphabet City, then you went to Harlem, Spanish Harlem, and Little Havana. What the fuck were you thinking? We had no protocols. Marcus and I were scrambling with Dylan and Ryan from Blake Security, trying to keep your ass covered. And for the two of us, staying unseen. You promised me, you wouldn’t make my life hell. You swore up and down you wouldn’t be like Sebastian, ignoring his security detail. Have you forgotten? Someone actually tried to kill your brother and your sister-in-law. We don’t know who else Robert was working with. We don’t know what else is planned. Unlike my idiot best friend, you actually need protection right now. Do you understand?”
I winced. I’ve never seen Roone get pissed. He’s mostly calm in these kinds of situations. He never really got that rattled. I felt bad. Do you? I just wanted to give Bryna all of my attention. And now I had another favor to ask. “So, is now a bad time to tell you that we’re going out tonight?”
Roone took a step toward me and Marcus got between us with a hand on Roone’s chest. “Roone, back down.”
“I will not back down. I’m going to kill him.”
I eased my hands down and backed up. “I’m sorry. Look, I couldn’t let her go around the city by herself. Some of those places were dangerous, one of which, I’m pretty sure she would not have returned from. The guy looked like he was ready to chain her in his basement and never let her out. Sebastian told me to look after her, so I’m looking out for her, okay?”
“Nah, mate, you’re looking to get your dick wet. And it’s making you stupid. We have no time, and you’re fucking around. Security protocols dictate—"
I lifted my chin and cut him off. “I’m sorry. It sucks. I should give you more time, but I’m still going out. You can come with me, or not. It’s up to you.” Then I turned and walked out. Yeah, I was kind of being a dick, but Bryna had looked so happy when I said I’d take her out. There was no way I was backing down on this one. Roone and Marcus would just have to deal with it.
I grabbed a five-minute shower. When I came out, my phone was ringing.
Sebastian. “Yeah?”
“What the fuck did you do to Roone? He called me cursing. Did you invite a bunch of random strangers back to the flat?”
“One time I’d did that, and no one lets me forget.”
“He won’t go into detail, but he wants you benched.”
I sighed. “Nothing man. I just may not have made his security detail easy today, and I’m going out tonight. I’m taking Bryna out, actually. I’m going to show her the town.”
There was a beat of silence. “Bryna, huh?”
“Ugh, I can hear it in your voice, big brother. Not like that. You asked me for a favor, and I’m not screwing it up.” Yes. Yes, you are.
“Chill. I’m just giving you shit. I know you understand that this is importan
t. Any updates on Tressel?”
“I’m still digging. I’ve found the trail of bread crumbs. I’m tracking it down.”
Another pause. “So, Bryna… you’re keeping your dick to yourself, right? I know she’s cute.”
“Yes, asshole. I thought you couldn’t find girls cute anymore.”
“Oh, I can still find them cute. Not nearly as cute as Penny, but still.”
I laughed. “And how is my sister-in-law? I’m surprised she doesn’t have you chained.”
“Currently, she’s a pain in the ass. She wants to return to duty. I told her we’d discuss it after the wedding, but I didn’t think she was serious. She wants to be in the field.”
I frowned. “In the field? But she’s the queen. That’s insane.”
“Yes, please come and tell her that because she won’t listen. And especially now, it’s so dangerous. I mean, I know that she was a Royal Guard, but still.”
My first instinct was to protect her. But she was more than capable, and certainly better trained, than me or Sebastian. “Oh, that is a unique situation, because after all, she did save your ass more than once.”
“Tell me about it. She never lets me forget.”
“Are you guys all right though?”
“Yeah, why do you ask?”
“I don’t know. You seem preoccupied. I really don’t need to hear the blow-by-blow, if you get my meaning, but normal life is good? I love you. If anyone deserves a happily-ever-after, it’s you.”
I could hear my brother chuckling on the other end of the line. “You realize you never say that, right?”
I frowned. “Say what?”
“I love you.”
Heat crept on my neck, and I shifted uncomfortably, even though he couldn’t see me. “Sure, I do.”
He chuckled low. “No, you don’t. I know less than two years ago we were basically strangers, and now we’re family. I didn’t anticipate any of that or the way any of this went down, but for the record, I love you, too.”
Shit, too many feelings. “If we’re done here, I need to go on my date. I mean…” Shit, shit, shit. “You know what I mean.”
My brother chuckled, but then he added, “Are you two getting along? What’s her place like?”
Shit. “I mean, yeah, it’s a dorm, you know. She seems happy enough. She’s cool. I’m just showing her around. I was going to take her to Little Havana. We’re meeting there with some friends. She’s pretty independent. She doesn’t really need babysitting or hand-holding.” Lies mixed with truth. The marks of a good con man.
“Okay, if you say so. All right, I’ll let you get going, but give me a call, okay?”
“You got it.” I couldn’t put my finger on it, but he sounded like he missed me.
“Oh, and Lucas?”
“Yeah?”
“Just be careful. You know the trial is about to start soon. Penny says I’m being dramatic, but I’d like you to be careful anyway.”
“You got it.” I hung up with my brother, knowing I’d lied to him. Or, omitted. Either way, it wasn’t a good feeling. He’d just have to understand. Besides, if anyone should understand, it should be him. He and Penny had a whole forbidden-romance thing too. Not that this was in any way a romance thing, but whatever. I needed to haul ass, or I’d be the one who was late.
22
Bryna
I hated to admit it, but Lucas was fun. Really fun. He hadn’t told me a thing about what we’d be doing. Instead, he told me to dress in something fun and flirty. The second I was ready, his gaze scanned over me for the briefest moment, and then he nodded and said, “Good. Let’s go.”
So for over an hour, I was obsessed with what the hell he meant by ‘good.’ Was it good-good, bad-good, just fine, good for a date, or he thought I looked good? It was a mine field.
Why do you care? This isn’t a real date. No, it wasn’t, and I needed to remember that.
The cab took us back to Little Havana. Seeing Lucas in date mode, it was hard to not see the charm. He was naturally charismatic. People wanted to please him. He took us into a little spot called Dom’s, where old men were playing dominoes.
He slipped into easy, fluent Spanish with the old Dominican guys, translating for me when necessary.
We didn’t win. Actually, I think I got our asses kicked. But it was still fun. There was laughing and joking, and with every laugh, Lucas brushed up against me, took my hand, or wrapped an arm around my shoulders. That feeling I’d been searching for, the elusive one, the one where I felt wanted and actually like my company was cherished, all that stuff I had said to Jinx when I ran away from home—I got that with Lucas. And I knew he was just showing me what it was supposed to be like. But now there was this part of me that wished it could be real. That Lucas could want me.
Bad idea. You live with him. He’s connected to your parents. He’s absolutely smoking hot, and he clearly can’t stay with one woman. Just look at him.
All those things were true. Plus, it would just get awkward because we were roommates.
After we left Dom’s, Lucas took my hand in his, the early fall evening cooling off my too-warm skin. I couldn’t believe how casually he just held my hand. As if we’d been doing it for decades.
When he stood, he barely even looked back at me. He just waited for me to take his hand, as if it was the expectation. The moment I slid my hand into his, that was it, we walked out together.
How was he supposed to know that my heart raced as if the finest thoroughbreds were dragging me behind a chariot.
He couldn’t know any of that. As far as he was concerned, he was being a nice guy, showing the noob how to date.
And this noob needed to get her shit under control. Lucas Newsome was not someone I could date. He wasn’t someone I could have. He wasn’t someone I wanted. Oh yeah, he had some of the edge I wanted, but he was too charming, too slick, too much like the man that I dated before. Too likely to hurt me.
Yeah, there was that too.
“Are you having fun?”
He pulled me into an over-packed restaurant where hordes of people waited outside. The moment we stepped in, my nostrils flared. I could smell the spices and everything delicious mixed together, combined with an elegant and cozy ambiance. “This is amazing. Where are we?”
“Casa Cuba. A friend of mine’s parents own it.”
An older woman, maybe about sixty or so, came from around the counter. “Lucas. Where have you been? Since Pedro left for his master’s, we haven’t seen you.”
“Yes Maria, I’m so sorry. I’ve been busy, you know, with school and work. It’s my last semester.”
“You, this boy, you make me start to love you and then you don’t call your mama.”
Lucas chuckled low, his grin showing off a slight dimple. Oh boy. He even had this old woman charmed.
She swatted him on the arm, and then she smiled at me. “Oh, we have a guest.”
“Yes. Maria, this is a friend of mine, Bryna. Bryna, this is Maria Cruz. She’s the mother of Pedro, my freshman year roommate, and the sole reason that I stayed fed my freshman year. She would send these care packages to UCLA, so when I transferred, I looked her up. Pedro, smarty pants that he is, graduated a year early. He went to grad school up in Boston.”
Maria beamed at me like a proud mother. “That’s my boy. Always too bright for his own good. And Bryna, it’s lovely to meet you. Come with me, I’ll give you our special table.”
She took us to the back, past the kitchens and then to this lovely courtyard. There were two other couples back there, but it was so much quieter. Private. Once we were seated, I turned to him. “You wouldn’t even know this was out here.”
He nodded with a grin. “Yep. One of the hidden secrets of the city. But when you’re back here, you don’t get a menu. They just bring out whatever they want. I hope you’re hungry, because now that Maria has met you, there’s no way you’re leaving here without stuffing your face. And the best part—"
He didn’t
get to finish because out came a young waiter, holding a tray of two drinks with something sticking out of them, green mint I assumed, and then something else. “What are these?”
The waiter grinned. “These, are Casa Cuba’s signature mojitos, on the house.”
I grinned at Lucas, and he nodded. “Yeah, that line we saw outside, half of them are here just for the drinks, trying to pre-game before they go out. Go easy on these and make sure you sip some water too because they’re strong, and their good old Havana rum will knock you on your ass.”
I shook my head at him. “You act like I’m not an island girl and I don’t know how to drink my rum.”
“Oh, I stand corrected. In that case, show me the way.”
He was right though. Those mojitos were strong. But God, they were delicious and reminded me of home.
The food that was brought out, oxtail stew, braised and excellent, a decadent desert cake with rum drizzled over, it was all amazing. Lucas kept the conversation flowing well. He was charming and sweet, and it was easy to forget exactly who he was or the fact that we weren’t on a real date.
My dinner wasn’t even the real treat. The real treat was when dinner was over. The tables were moved out of the way, and the music began. Salsa. Jinx and I had taken lessons a few years ago as a way to meet guys. Surprisingly, there were only about two men in the class, and not enough to go around, so I’d learned to do both the guy’s and the girl’s parts.
It was one of my few hidden skills. My parents, of course, hadn’t approved. But when I heard the music, I couldn’t help but switch my hips. Lucas’s gaze slid over me. I knew that he didn’t intend for me to feel hot and flushed at a glance, but I couldn’t help it.
“Oh, you can salsa?”
I nodded happily. “Yeah. I haven’t done it in years, so I might be rusty, but I can salsa. And if you want I can lead.”
He chuckled low, the sound doing melty things to my knees. “Maybe next time. I’ll do the leading for now. Let’s see what you got.”
