“What?” I asked. “What’s so funny?”
I stopped walking when I got to the building that held my next class and waited for her to let me in on her secret.
“Of course I’m gonna call her VD to her face, Sophia. I can’t believe you’d think otherwise. What good is a nickname like that if I don’t get to use it on its intended victim?”
The girl did have a point.
“Fair enough.”
It had occurred to me more than once that Aamee’s thorough hatred of someone she didn’t know had more to do with her own insecurities than it did with Veronica.
The few times Vee had talked to Brody since they made their arrangement, she had mentioned she didn’t want to upset Aamee. And since Vee didn’t strike me as the type to get intimidated easily, I figured she honestly felt somewhat guilty about how the whole situation had played out.
Vee got a place to live so she didn’t have to decline the internship, and Brody got to show our dad just how “committed” he was to things—or in this case, a person—he cared about.
Aamee didn’t benefit in any way from any of this. Since Vee had lit the match that Brody used to set everyone’s lives on fire, including his own, my guess was she felt bad about the unintended casualties. So as much as Aamee could be a complete fucking bitch for no reason, I couldn’t blame her for whatever feelings she had about all of it.
Brody was about as reliable as the Titanic. One second you’re riding along with him, enjoying the view, and the next you’re flailing your arms in frigid water, begging someone to throw you a life preserver.
He’d made some progress over the last few months with his dedication to Nite Bites as well as a girlfriend, but we were still talking about Brody here. Any girl would be nervous about her boyfriend living with another female.
Even me. As much as I hated to admit it.
Chapter Seven
S O P H I A
“What do you have in here, bricks?” Drew asked as he dropped a box on the floor before sprawling onto our couch.
“Ew, don’t get your sweat all over everything. We don’t own this furniture.” I swatted at Drew before grabbing the box and pulling it toward the bedroom I’d be sharing with Taylor.
We’d lucked into finding a furnished apartment in the same complex as Drew and Aamee, which was amazing since buying furniture we’d only need for the summer wasn’t high on my list of priorities.
Drew rolled off the couch onto the floor and remained there.
“So lazy,” I teased.
“Shut up. This is the second apartment I’ve moved someone into today.”
I squished up my nose. “You only had to move your stuff, which wasn’t even a full carload.”
Aamee had hired movers for her stuff because of course she had. She hadn’t even shown up until the movers were practically finished. She’d been wearing her dark sunglasses and had only offered us a few grunts before shutting herself in her bedroom. It was classic hungover Aamee.
Graduation had been yesterday, and I guessed Aamee had gone all out celebrating her freedom from college. I’d heard from Brody that they’d met up with some of Aamee’s friends after having dinner with her parents.
Brody had met the parents. I wished I’d been there to see it, though Brody said it had gone well.
Abandoning the box I was slowly dragging across the carpet, I crawled over to Drew and nestled in next to him. He put his arm around my shoulders so I could rest my head on his chest. It was a tight fit between the couch and coffee table, but we managed.
“You feeling okay?” I asked because the man had been in a major motorcycle accident five months prior. And while he was pretty much healed, I didn’t want him to push too hard.
“Yeah, I’m good.” He pressed a kiss to my head and held me tighter.
We stayed there and enjoyed having each other close for a few minutes until a voice interrupted us.
“You guys stuck?”
I looked up to see Carter looming over us.
“Yes,” Drew groused. “But we like it, so go away.”
“Soph, Taylor just pulled up. She said she texted you.”
Sitting up, I looked around and surveyed the disaster zone that was our apartment.
“I don’t know where my phone went.” I got to my feet and turned to offer a hand to Drew, who took it with a smile.
“Carter and I will go help Taylor unpack her car if you want to start sorting through things up here,” Drew said.
“I just want to go down and say hi to her first.”
We all made our way out of the third-floor apartment that was thankfully right around the corner from the elevator, though it seemed none of us wanted to wait for it. We bypassed it and headed for the stairs that led to the parking lot.
I hurried down and swung the door open, revealing Taylor leaning back against her old blue Explorer.
“About time you showed up,” I yelled to her as I galloped toward her.
She stood up straight, a wide smile on her face. “I’m an hour earlier than I said I’d be.”
“Whatever,” I replied before I squealed and threw myself at her. “I’m so excited you’re here.”
“Me too. This is going to be the best summer ever.”
“You two need a minute, or can we watch?”
I turned around to glare at Carter. “Shut up, perv.”
Taylor moved around me and walked over to Drew to give him a hug.
“Good to see ya,” Drew said.
“You too. I heard we’re going to be neighbors.”
“Yeah. Hope that’s okay.”
“Of course. It’s gonna be a blast.” Then she turned her attention to Carter and stepped forward to give him a brief hug.
“Did you have a good drive?” Carter asked.
“Yeah, not too bad.” Taylor’s smile was bright, and I was wearing one to match.
It was so great to have my best friend here. My worlds were merging in the best ways—at least I hoped it would be the best ways. There was a little niggle in the back of my brain that warned me not to be too idealistic in my expectation for the summer, but I couldn’t help but be excited.
Taylor looked around. “Where’s Brody?”
“Brace yourself,” I said. “He has a job.”
Taylor clutched her chest dramatically and staggered back a few steps. “What is this blasphemy you speak of?”
I chuckled. “I know. He’s working with Drew at Rafferty’s.”
“What about Nite Bites?” she asked as we all started grabbing stuff out of her car.
I sighed heavily. “We’ve talked about it a few times after everything went down with the school and decided a couple days ago that it just wasn’t smart to keep going with it. Now that the school knows, they’ll be watching us like hawks, and we also didn’t want to risk them taking it to the next level and getting the police involved. Also, my dad wasn’t too hype on keeping it going.”
Taylor nodded. “Makes sense. And having a job at a bar will at least give him some experience for when he and Drew open one.” She smiled at Drew as she spoke.
I’d told her all about my dad’s offer as well as all the drama with Veronica. She’d said it was like we were all moving onto the set of Melrose Place, a reference I’d had to google but seemed appropriate once I’d read up on it.
I grabbed one more bag, bringing my arm strength to the absolute limit. “Ready to see our apartment?” I asked excitedly.
“Yes!” Taylor yelled and started making her way quickly to the building like the little Tasmanian Devil she was.
And as I followed my crew inside, I couldn’t help letting my hopes grow beyond my control. This was going to be a kick-ass summer.
D R E W
“Aamee? You awake?” I rapped lightly on Aamee’s bedroom door.
“No” came a muffled reply. “Go away.”
“Brody called. He’s bringing food from Rafferty’s to Sophia’s place.”
“Ugh. Why are you still talkin
g?”
I couldn’t help but chuckle at how surly she was. My reaction gave me pause. Since when did I find someone being a jerk to me endearing? Was this some kind of weird Stockholm Syndrome–type shit?
“I thought you might be hungry.”
“Food bad,” she groaned.
“Greasy food good. For hangovers at least.”
When I didn’t hear a reply, I pressed my ear against the door. Had she died?
Suddenly the door wrenched open, and I stumbled forward a bit before regaining my balance.
I gave Aamee a quick once-over. She was still wearing sunglasses, an oversize T-shirt, and soft-looking shorts. Her makeup didn’t look as pristine as it usually did. It was the least put together I’d ever seen her.
“How far is Sophia’s place?” she asked like she was about to travel by horseback.
I pointed up. “One floor up and down the opposite hallway but not far from the stairs.” At her glare, I amended my statement. “Or the elevator. She’s close to both.”
“Fine, let’s go.”
I led her out of our apartment and up to Sophia’s. The door was still propped open from when we’d been carrying things inside. Everyone was gathered in the living room chatting. Cody had even shown up to help, but of course he’d arrived just after we’d finished bringing up the last box. The kid’s timing was impeccable.
“Hi,” Taylor said as she stepped forward, a spring in her step, pep in her voice, and a smile on her face. “We never formally met. I’m Taylor.”
Before Taylor got too close, Aamee held up a hand. “Please. No.”
Taylor’s face looked like a storm cloud had drifted across it. She put a hand on her hip in the universal “shit’s about to get real” gesture.
But before Taylor’s ire could pick up much steam, Aamee spoke again. “Sorry. I’m a bitch by nature, and I can’t temper it when I’m hungover. Can you wait to judge me until later?”
Taylor thought for a second and then said, “Yeah, I can do that.”
“Wait, you’ve been tempering your bitchiness?” Sophia asked, sounding genuinely shocked.
Aamee gave her an unimpressed look before asking, “Is the food here yet?”
“No, but Brody should be here soon. He texted that he was leaving Rafferty’s almost twenty minutes ago.”
Aamee hummed in acknowledgment before shuffling over to the couch and sitting down. She rubbed her hand over the navy leather sofa. “Thank God we didn’t get this couch,” she muttered.
We all seemed to collectively choose to ignore her comment—and her presence in general—and fell into easy conversation with each other.
“So where are you working now, Cody?” Carter asked. “Since these assholes laid you off.”
His smirk let me know he was kidding, but I couldn’t deny the comment stung a little. Cody had been our delivery guy and was collateral damage in our decision to stop the business. Even though he’d told me he understood, I still felt shitty about it.
“Oh, uh, I’m working at a…at a…it’s like an art gallery place.”
He seems squirrelly.
I let my eyes dart around to the others, and they all looked as if they’d picked up on Cody’s awkwardness, which prompted me to ask, “It’s like an art gallery, or it is an art gallery?”
“I guess it’s more of a studio. They do lessons and stuff.”
“That’s cool,” Taylor said as she settled onto one of the barstools that stood along the peninsula that separated the living room from the kitchen. “What do you do there?”
“Huh? Do there? Um, I uh, do lots of stuff.”
“Like?” I asked, my tone impatient. Cody was acting weird, and it was putting me on edge.
“Move stuff!” he exclaimed like he’d just solved some complicated math theorem. “And, uh, set up for classes. I do those things.”
I moved into his space and put a hand on his shoulder, exerting a little pressure to remind him that I could still kick the shit out of him if he didn’t stop lying to me. “Spill it, Cody.”
He looked around wildly, as if hoping someone would jump in to save him. He’d encountered the wrong crowd if he thought any member of this group was going to throw him a life raft. The only thing these people loved more than each other was gossip, and Cody was clearly sitting on something juicy.
Finally he let out a breath, and his posture slumped in defeat as he looked down at the floor. “I” was all I could understand because he released the other words in a rushed, garbled mess.
“What?” I asked.
He took a deep breath and raised his head so his eyes met mine. “I pose for the artists.”
I staggered back like I’d been struck.
“Pose, like, in cute costumes?” Sophia asked, her voice hopeful.
Cody shook his head and looked down again.
“What do you pose in?” I asked, my voice harsh.
“Nothing,” he said, his voice quiet and small. “I pose nude.”
“Hell yeah!” Carter shouted like Cody had just scored a winning touchdown.
I turned to glare at him and noticed Sophia and Taylor were doing the same.
Carter simply shrugged. “What? That means he’s hot if they let him do that. It’s a total compliment.”
“Why am I friends with you?” I asked.
Carter shrugged again.
I rounded on Cody, but before I could get any words out, Brody barreled in, his arms filled with bags of food. He clumsily set them on the coffee table before straightening and looking around at all of us.
“Hey. What’d I miss?”
Chapter Eight
S O P H I A
I flopped down on the couch next to Drew and moaned. “God, sitting has never felt so good.”
He chuckled as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me to him.
I closed my eyes and rested my head against his chest. “Moving sucks. I don’t ever wanna do it again.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate since you’ll be doing it again in three months.”
I smacked him lightly. “Mood murderer.” I felt his chest rumble with a laugh before we both stilled and let ourselves relax after the long day. The silence between us was peaceful, so of course I had to ruin it. “So…your brother.”
Drew groaned. “Come on. I’d just gotten to a place where I was tired enough to forget about it.”
“Okay, forget away.”
“Well, I can’t now that you reminded me.” His leg started to jump, causing his whole body to shake.
“You’re ruining my pillow,” I complained as he inadvertently jostled me.
“My brother is selling his body.”
A startled laugh tumbled out of me. “You make him sound like a prostitute.”
“He may as well be,” Drew grumbled.
I sat up so I could turn to look at my boyfriend. Drew was always handsome, with his dark-brown eyes and smooth skin that covered a strong jaw. But his normal lopsided grin was missing, and I didn’t like the frown that caused his brow to crease and corners of his lips to turn down.
“That’s a little extreme.”
“How would you feel if you heard Brody was posing naked in front of strangers?”
I thought for a second. “Honestly, I feel like that would be one of the least weird things Brody’s ever done.”
Drew evidently didn’t like my answer because he stood up from the couch.
“Where are you going?” I asked.
“It’s getting late. I’m gonna head home.”
I stood then, concern filling me. I approached him and set a hand on his chest. “Hey, don’t be mad at me. I’m not trying to diminish how you feel.”
“I know. I just…” His words trailed off as he speared his fingers into his hair and gave the ends a tug before letting go. “I feel like I let him down. We shut the business down without any real warning. Did I push him into this?”
“Drew, he’s had plenty of normal jobs. He could easily ha
ve gotten another one if he’d wanted to. This had to be something he chose to do. You didn’t push him into anything.”
I honestly didn’t understand why Drew was reacting so strongly. Not because I thought he was wrong for caring about his brother but because Drew was far from a prude. Was posing naked in front of a room full of artists really something to be this distraught over? It wasn’t like Drew had gotten his brother hooked on meth and sent him out onto the streets to turn tricks.
Drew looked down at me, and the sadness in his eyes made my breath catch.
“I just wanted to do better by him, ya know? He’s got a lot of potential, but he’s making all the same mistakes I did. Cody doesn’t push himself hard enough. He’s content to go with the flow and fly under the radar. He could be so much more than me, but I’m worried he’s never going to get there. That I wasn’t a good enough role model to show him he can be something more than our parents ever expected us to be.”
I’m sure the look on my face showed my confusion as well as abject rage. Because seriously, what the fuck?
“First of all, you’re one of the best people I know, so maybe stop with the ‘he could be more than me’ bullshit. He’d be lucky to be like you, Drew. Anyone would. Second of all, he’s eighteen. And in my opinion, this is a pretty sweet gig for a kid that age. From what he said, he makes pretty good money for only having to work a few hours a week. You’re a great brother. This is Cody’s doing, not yours.”
Drew stared intensely into my eyes for a moment before his shoulders slumped a bit. “You’re right. Thanks for talking me off the ledge. What would I do without you?”
“You’re welcome. And you’d probably be miserable.”
That got a smile out of him. “Very true. But you’d be miserable without me too.”
“Duh.”
He laughed and hugged me tightly to him. “I really wish our housing situation was a little more amenable to me showing you how not-miserable I can make you.”
I sighed against his chest. “We’ll figure it out. We always do.”
He hummed against my head. “Is Taylor a heavy sleeper?” he whispered.
Two Truths & a Lime (The Love Game Book 3) Page 5
