Sexy Six

by Ahren Sanders

  Shock registered on his face then quickly disappeared. “Of course, I like having you around, but I’m not going anywhere. Neither is the gallery. We’ll both be here when you come back. As for you having friends, that’s great, Grace, but those are Nick’s people. His family. Are you actually going to make a decision this important based on them? If there’s no more Nick and Grace, there are no more friends. Don’t you see that?”

  “That is low.”

  “Think about it, Grace. If you two split up, whose side do you think they’ll be on? I’m sure they’ll be around for a little while, but then they’ll fade away.”

  “Why do you think we’ll split up? We’re in a great relationship!”

  I kept the last few days of rejection and fear to myself. It was none of his business.

  “Oh, that’s right. You’re on the accelerated path of becoming a quarterback’s wife. A life of luxury and riches. Then, in ten years when he’s done, he’ll find a new trophy wife.”

  His statement stung, and I fought the tears that threatened. “Is that what you think of me, Logan? You think I’m with Nick because I want to be a quarterback’s wife? Luxury and riches? Am I that shallow to you? If I were to marry Nick, it would be because I love him with all my heart. How dare you characterize my relationship with such disrespect? Is that what you’ve been thinking all along? Of me?”

  He shrugged without an ounce of regret. “I’m looking out for you, telling you what you need to think about. You’re so blinded by lust that your judgment is clouded. I’m not going to let you throw away this opportunity.”

  “Do you think I’m incapable of making my own decisions?”

  “When it comes to Nick Bennett, I think you’d do anything.”

  “You asshole! I told you, I like my life here. This is my decision. Nick is a factor, but he’s been nothing but supportive.”

  He smirked with such venom a chill ran up my spine. “Supportive? Yes, he is. That’s why I called him to see if he was in on this decision. Imagine his surprise.”

  “You didn’t.” My heart sank.

  “He’s not too happy.”

  Getting up slowly, I slipped my shoes back on and turned to leave. I was done with our conversation.

  So this was what betrayal felt like? A deep hatred stirred inside me.

  “Grace, I’m sorry. This is not how I wanted the conversation to go, but your best interests are always my first priority. You need to think long and hard about your future.” I heard him sigh, but I kept walking, never looking back.

  My phone rings, jolting me back to the present, a picture of Nick and me flashing on my screen. God, I need him right now.

  “Hey, Nick.”

  “Sweet Peach, where are you?” His concern gives me hope.

  “I’m on my way home. Are you already there?”

  “No, I’m at my place, but I’ll meet you in an hour.”

  “Okay.” I hiccup, the tears threatening again. “Are you mad at me, too?”

  His pause is the confirmation I need. “We need to talk.”

  “You know what, Nick, I’ve just had the worst conversation of my life with my brother. I’m not in the mood to talk. If you’re angry, then stay home. I have my reasons for not telling anyone I declined the program. If you’re going to come over and be ugly, I can’t take it tonight.” My voice cracks, and I start bawling.

  “Grace, where are you exactly? I’ll come get you.”

  “Don’t bother. I’ll be fine.”

  “Baby, I’m not mad. I’m worried. We’ll talk about it in a bit. I need to make a quick stop, and then I’ll be there.”

  “I’m serious, Nick. I can’t take anymore tonight. I need you to hold me, to reassure me things are good and my brother is an asshole.”

  “Maybe tomorrow would be better.” His voice is raw, and my heart splinters.

  There is no more energy in me to fight. The one person I thought I could count on is turning me down. I know Nick will understand my reasons, but there’s no way I can go through it again.

  “Okay, call me tomorrow.” I hang up without saying I love you.

  He calls back immediately, but I hit ignore and get back on the road. I’m done pleading my case.

  What’s done is done.

  Chapter 25

  Nick

  I bang on the door with brutal force, hearing it rattle on the hinges. Rage pulses through my veins, threatening to explode.

  When Logan finally answers, panic sets in. He looks like shit. He doesn’t seem surprised to see me. Without a word, he goes back to his office, me following on his heel.

  He falls into the closest chair, his body deflating in a heap. “She called you.”

  “No, I called her, ready to put my plan into action. Instead, I’m greeted with her crying. Actually, that’s not right. She was bawling. The only thing she said was she’d had the worst conversation of her life with you. Of course, I was confused, because last we discussed, I was going to be the one to try to make her see reason.”

  “I fucked up. Fucked up big time. I didn’t mean for it to happen, but once it started, the words, the lies just poured out of my mouth so easily. I didn’t mean any of them, but still, I said them with such conviction and certainty.”

  My own panic starts to set in. What lies? This man in front of me looks physically ill. “What did you do?”

  As he tells me what happened, my rage from earlier grows with each word. When he’s done, there’s shame brimming in his eyes, but I can’t see past my own fury. My arm jets out, punching him with ravaging force. He flies to the side, the chair going over with him, and I take a step back to try to find some control.

  “You told her I’d replace her with a trophy wife? That our friends would dump her? WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?” I roar, my voice bouncing off the walls.

  “I don’t know! It came out of nowhere.” He rights himself, smartly staying on the floor.

  “Did it come out of nowhere, or do you really believe that shit? Was this your way of expressing your jaded fucking opinion?”

  “No, I don’t think that. It was all lies. I know you love my sister.”

  “I don’t only love your sister, I cherish your sister, and instead of taking the delicate approach and letting me handle changing her mind, you’ve now planted vicious thoughts in her head about me. About us. About our future. No wonder she was sobbing.”

  He stays quiet, shaking his head.

  “What did you think you’d gain from that? As each vile word spewed out of your mouth, what was your end game?”

  “The only end game I had was looking out for her, which is the polar opposite of what happened.”

  “You know what, Logan? I had it handled. I was ready to be the asshole, ready to push her away for the sake of this fucking opportunity. But now, I can’t be the asshole because you’ve done it for me. It’s been killing me inside, the last six days, watching her light go out as I started putting my plan in place. Our families are bonding and getting to know each other, yet, I stayed back. Our first holiday together, one where I was going to announce she was moving in and start the process of building our lives together. She’d stare at me with so much confusion as I prepared to keep my word to the Monroe men and make her chase that dream. Now, my woman, who is everything to me, is sitting in her house, thinking I’m mad at her. She’s all alone while I deal with your bullshit.”

  “You should go to her. Don’t let her be alone.”

  “Oh, I’m going to her. I’ll be in her bed tonight comforting her as she tells me, in her words, what you’ve said. My job is to take care of her, and if I can’t calm her, you bet your sorry ass I’ll be back tomorrow, and the least of your problems will be a black eye.”

  “I deserve that.”

  “You know what I don’t get? Why? Why is this so damn important to you? What do you get out of it? Will the gallery be more exclusive if she does this? Will you be a major player in the Miami art world?”

  “Don’t
insult me.” His eyes heat in anger.

  “It’s better I insult you than kill you.”

  “Grace gave up a lot to go home. She may have pretended it didn’t bother her, but I know she wanted to go away for her MFA. She didn’t. I want her to have this, knowing she worked so hard.”

  “Is this guilt? Because you got to continue on with your life after Kayla died and she put hers on the back burner?”

  I know I’ve hit a nerve when he barely nods. “But there’s also her promise to Grandma.”

  “And that is why I’m going to convince her to get on that plane, because I fucking love your grandmother without ever meeting her. You can go to hell.”

  “I’m already in hell. I destroyed my relationship with my sister tonight.”

  “Lucky for you, I’ll try to clean up your destruction. But if you ever hurt her again, you’ll be out of her life. The things you said could cause irreparable damage to someone.”

  My fist clenches, ready to go after him again, but instead, I leave him to nurse his eye that’s already swollen to only a slit.

  I get in my car and think about calling Grace again, but there’s too much anger still boiling inside. Her brother has made my job a hell of a lot harder. I expected him to be there to pick up the pieces.

  Thinking about what he told her has me speeding toward her house. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to build off that foundation.

  Her eyelids start to flutter, eyelashes tickling my chest. I rub my fingertips up and down her arm that’s slung over my chest. She lets out a soft sigh.

  “Are you actually here or am I dreaming?”

  “I’ve been here all night.”

  Her head pops up, and the instant I see her face, I want to punch Logan again.

  And again…

  And again…

  Her beautiful violet eyes are bloodshot, remnants of mascara stained on her puffy cheeks. I’ve seen Grace shed a few tears over the last few months, but never this kind of damage. Slowly, I lift up and kiss each eyelid, willing the swelling to decrease.

  “You’ve been here all night?”

  “I tried to wake you up, but you were practically comatose. I was two seconds away from calling 9-1-1 until I found the Benadryl on your vanity.”

  “I took it hoping it would diminish the effects of crying myself to sleep. I figured it was effective for allergies, so maybe I had a chance. Did it work?”

  “I’m not going to lie, babe. You look like you’ve been crying all night.”

  “Uggh…” She drops her head back to my chest and curls into me. “I’m sorry I didn’t wake up.”

  “It’s okay. Probably for the best. I was pretty livid when I arrived. It took the last nine hours to calm down.”

  She tenses, her arm across my chest tightening. “Were you livid with me?”

  “No, your piece of shit brother. When he called me earlier in the day, telling me about your acceptance, I was irritated.”

  Lie #1

  “I’m sorry.”

  “When you called me crying, my irritation switched to him, so I went to have a little talk.”

  “Did he tell you what happened?”

  “He did.”

  “It was awful.”

  “That’s why he’s nursing a black eye today.”

  “You hit him?” She tilts her head, horror written on her face.

  “Fuck yeah, I did.”

  “Well, that’s not good.”

  “I didn’t like hearing you cry.”

  “Did he tell you everything he said?”

  “I guess.”

  “He was so vile and nasty. It wasn’t my brother. That was a man I don’t know.”

  Time to get this show on the road.

  I lift her arm and roll out of bed, immediately missing the warmth of her body.

  “I’m going to make coffee. Meet me in the kitchen.” I avoid eye contact. This is going to be hard enough without seeing the evidence of what her brother has already started.

  Ten minutes later, she joins me in the kitchen, her face freshly washed and hair in a high ponytail. She’s wearing one of my old college shirts that hangs on her. Usually, she’d be completely naked underneath, but today, she’s slid on a pair of pajama pants.

  I fix her coffee and hand her the mug then walk to the other side of the kitchen. I prop my hip against the counter and start with the obvious question. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “I didn’t tell anyone. I needed to process how I felt about it and truly think. After a few days, I realized the level of excitement I should have felt was not there. That’s when I knew it was no longer what I really wanted.”

  “Why?”

  “If Logan told you everything, then you know it’s because my life has changed. I like being here in Miami. I love my job, my friends, you… things I didn’t know when I moved here. If I would have had any idea of the roots I would build, I would have either not applied, or waited a year.”

  “That’s fair, but you did apply, and you need to go.”

  “I don’t want to leave. I’ve moved on. It’s no longer on the table.”

  “Can it be?”

  “Why? Are you saying you want me to go?”

  “Yes, I want you to go. I think it will be a good business decision for you.”

  She studies me for a second, her eyes roaming over my face. I remain still, hoping she can’t see through the laid-back façade.

  “Business decision? What about us? Won’t you miss me?”

  Here we go.

  “Sure, I’ll miss you, but we can meet up when you get back. Then see what happens then.”

  “Meet up? See what happens?”

  “Sure. If we’re both still single, we can see where this thing goes.”

  She stumbles, and it takes all my willpower not to reach out to her.

  “This thing goes?”

  I sigh unnecessarily and place my mug on the counter, inhaling deeply and praying for strength to get through this. When I twist back around, she’s gripping the counter for support.

  “Listen, Grace, the timing on this sucks, but I’ve been thinking about this for a few days. I think we need to take a step back, breathe a little. Slow things down.”

  Lie #2

  She visibly pales, blinking rapidly. “Slow things down. Three weeks ago, you asked me to move in with you. I argued, and you wouldn’t take no for an answer. We took this relationship at lightning speed, and now you want to slow things down.”

  “Yeah, and I see how smart you were to make us both think about that moving in thing. Once I realized what I was asking, it became clear I’m not ready.”

  Lie #3

  “You’re not ready? What changed your mind?”

  “Let’s not do this, Grace. Let’s not make it ugly. We’ve had a great few months. Let’s take some time and see what happens.”

  “What’s going on, Nick? Is this because I didn’t tell you about the acceptance? Are you punishing me?”

  “That’s not my style. This is not a punishment. But now that you mention it, when I found out you kept it from me, I was surprised. We’d fallen into a routine where we shared everything. Then I let it go because it was proof we still have a lot to learn about one another.”

  “I see, so you want to take some more time to get to know each other?”

  “I think it’s smart.”

  Lie #4

  “And you’ve been thinking about this since last week. Is that why you’ve been distant, closed off?”

  “I’ll admit introducing our families put me on edge.”

  Lie #5

  “On edge? You’re the one who insisted we do it.”

  “I know, and for that, I apologize. My decisions have been a little off lately.”

  All the color now drains from her face, and she starts to shake. My beautiful Grace stands in front of me, her lips quivering. A lump forms in my throat, threatening to choke me.

  “Are we breaking up?” Her voice cracks on th
e last word, sending me deeper into my own hell.

  “If you choose to put a label on it, then yeah.”

  “This nightmare keeps getting worse. First Logan, now you.”

  I involuntary cringe at being put in the same category as him, even knowing it’s where I belong. She notices, her eyes piercing into mine. I mentally force myself to remain stoic, giving her my best blank expression.

  “Tell me, Nick, and be completely honest. Are you doing this to push me away, trying to turn into an asshole so I’ll change my mind? Did Logan put you up to this?”

  Yes!

  I press myself deeper into the counter until I feel a touch of pain. It’s the only way I can keep focused on finishing this farce.

  “Like I said, the timing sucks. I’ve been thinking about this before Logan called. My opinion is you should contact that group and see if they’ll still take you, but you do what you want. It’s your decision and doesn’t affect me. I want you in my life, Grace. Taking a step back doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. Who knows what will happen in the future?”

  Lies! Lies! Lies! Everything out of my mouth is a lie. I do know what’s going to happen in the future. I’m going to chase you down and crawl on my knees for forgiveness. Then I’m going to marry you and love you for the rest of our lives.

  “Why are you here then? Why did you slip into my bed in the middle of the night if you wanted space? Seems like a shitty way to show it.”

  “Another poor decision on my part. I wanted to talk to you last night, and when I heard you crying over what Logan said, my protective instincts kicked in. He was out of line, and I figured you needed some support.”

  “So you got into bed with me?”

  “Habit.” I shrug, trying to drive my point home. “It won’t happen again unless you want it, but I figure you’re not really a casual sex kinda girl.”

  “I thought you loved me. How can you be this cruel?”

  “I do love you, Grace, but I think I was caught up in the idea of it all. The girlfriend, moving you in, declaring my love… it seemed like the thing to do. But I can’t continue stringing you along under false pretenses. It’s not fair. This is me loving you.”