by Lily White
“What?”
The door popped open, Gabriel stepping through, his attention drifting between Luca and me before a smile creased his lips.
“Just checking to make sure everybody is still alive and well.”
Behind me, Luca attempted to push to her feet, but she groaned and grabbed her head, falling back down to sit on the side of the mattress.
“I stood too fast.”
Gabriel laughed and leaned against the doorframe.
“With the amount of alcohol you drank I’m surprised you’re still able to talk, much less sit up. Maybe you should stay there and try not to hurt yourself.”
His eyes met mine.
“You have a special guest arriving in a few minutes, but it seems our situation has changed.”
Gabriel shot a pointed look at Luca.
“How long?” I rubbed at the back of my neck knowing that I would have to take care of this problem myself if I wanted it done right.
“Five minutes.”
Nodding, I cast a glance in Luca’s direction, my eyes taking a little too long staring at how her shirt had slipped to the side revealing her naked shoulder.
The fuck was wrong with me? It was a damn shoulder and there I was staring at it like she’d stripped down and was giving me a lap dance.
“I’ll take care if it.”
Breathing out, I met Gabriel’s stare one last time before he grinned and slipped out of the room, the door shutting quietly behind him.
I turned to Luca, an aggravated sigh rolling over my lips to see she’d fallen back on the bed, her eyes closed and lips parted.
Storming over to her, I tried lifting her up by the shoulders to finish what she goddamned started, but she was out cold, her head wobbling back. In my bed. Which was not where I planned for her to be.
Running a hand through my hair, I paced in front of the bed, irritated as fuck that this was not going to plan.
It didn’t matter. I would still find a way to corner her one way or another.
Spinning to leave the damn room, I had my fingers locked over the doorknob when a flash of guilt hit me that should not have been there. Luca wasn’t my problem, at least not in the way the guilt told me she was.
But I still couldn’t leave her like that.
Cursing under my breath, I spun back to her, flung one of her arms over my shoulder and dragged her weight up the bed. Pulling the sheets out from under her, I tucked her in like a pussy-whipped boyfriend would do, for what fucking reason, I had no idea.
I was sure to roll her to her side as well because I didn’t want her choking on her own vomit should she get sick after drinking an entire brewery.
Satisfied that she wouldn’t die, I stared down at her with every ounce of hatred I was feeling for the problem she’d become in my life. A problem that would soon be over, thank fuck. And once it was, I could get my dad off my ass and return to my previously scheduled life of not giving much of a fuck about anything.
A knock on the door sounded and my five minutes were up. Judging by the forceful pound of it, a certain someone was pissed to find out where his precious girlfriend had ended up.
And wasn’t that interesting?
He was never meant to fall in love, but the more the weeks rolled on, the more he got in my way until a little birdie reminded him a world of shit was coming if he didn’t keep his end of things.
But whatever.
The finish line was in sight and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the asshole longer than was needed.
He’d had a job to do, and he did it. His services were no longer required.
I opened the door and Clayton tried to push past me, his expression a mask of rage that did nothing but make me chuckle.
All it took was a warning glare from me and he remembered himself real quick, his fingers shooting through his hair as he stepped back to give me room.
His eyes attempted to look around me as I left the room, but I blocked him with my shoulder and shut the door.
“You weren’t supposed to be here tonight.”
His angry stare met mine, the silent threat comical when you compared our sizes.
Clayton wasn’t a small guy, but he wasn’t athletic either. While I’d built my body up playing football in high school and lacrosse in undergrad, this asshole had been too busy mucking it up with other future sleazeballs of America, playing games and spending money while traveling the world on their daddy’s dimes.
He was your typical future politician. The only problem was he’d be a failure in that as well. His father might be a Senator, but I highly doubted it would help Clayton in the end. The apple had not only fallen from the tree, it had bounced a few hundred times and careened off a nearby cliff.
“I’m taking her home.”
The corner of my lips curled.
“You’ll do no such thing. In fact,” I said, scratching my jaw and smiling wider, “you’ll be breaking up with Luca tomorrow morning. I set you on her to get her closer to me, but now that she’s here, you’re done. One favor has been repaid. You only have two more to go.”
Clayton was a world of problems. Ones he caused, most of the time, and in order to keep them from leaking out and getting his Senator father in trouble, Clayton would often come crawling to me for help.
His dating Luca counted for the first of his repayments. What I’d ask for the other two, I had no idea, but plenty of time to think it over.
My eyes fell to the tick in his jaw, my teeth hurting for how hard he ground his together. I almost laughed.
“Awe, it looks like your tripped and fell into some feelings for her.”
His eyes narrowed on me like he actually thought about doing something in retaliation. But then, his expression lost its red sheen, logic filtering in to wipe away any ideas he had about challenging me.
I had him by the balls and he knew it.
“Fine. I’ll go to her dorm tomorrow and explain that we can’t see each other anymore.”
Cocking my head to the side, I wasn’t exactly on board with that idea.
“A text will do. As few sentences as possible. Women just love to find out they’re valued so little as to have their hearts broken in fifty words or less.”
Clayton’s hand fisted at his sides, my gaze sliding to the movement.
“What do you plan to do with that?”
His fingers relaxed and I grinned.
“Run along, Clayton, while I’m still feeling generous. You reneged on our deal by showing up here tonight. Yet, I’m still willing to call this favor done.”
The knowledge he was defeated sat heavily on his shoulders, but he turned and left without argument. Before he could disappear down the stairs, I called out to him.
“Oh, and make sure that text goes through bright and fucking early. No later than eight.”
He shot a look over his shoulder and nodded.
There wasn’t much that could be done with Luca tonight, but I’d deal with her in the morning while she was good and heartbroken.
I told myself I needed her away from Clayton so that she was on her own, making her easier prey, but there was another thought in my head, an annoying one that kept whispering even if I knew it wasn’t true.
I wanted Luca for myself.
The only problem was that it could never happen. Not with my father breathing down my neck.
I was going to check on her again when Gabriel’s voice caught my attention.
Strolling toward me from the other end of the hall, he gripped his phone in his hand and wore an expression that was about as shitastic as they come.
“You need to go pick up the twins.”
I ran my tongue over my teeth, counted to three to keep from punching a wall. Our fathers had done something to fuck them up again and couldn’t be bothered to deal with the problem and bring them home. Fucking typical.
“What did they do to them this time?”
Gabriel shot me a look, refused to answer. “I’d go myself, but I’
m too drunk to drive. I don’t know what’s going on, but their dad just called me and said they’ve become a problem.”
The twins were currently back in our old neighborhood.
“That’s a four hour drive one way. It’ll take me all night.”
“It’s bad,” was all he answered, his voice as calm as ever.
Gabriel wasn’t the type to get heated, not outwardly anyway. It made him dangerous. But then, he was a king of lies. That’s why we called him Fraud. He could sell a drowning man a glass of water. And he probably would. Money talked to Gabriel like a sated lover.
Fucking hell.
My finger was in his face. “Watch Luca. She’s passed out on my bed.”
“She’s handled.”
Nodding my head, I exhaled and turned to leave the house.
I didn’t know why everything was falling apart tonight, but I was determined to find a way to pull it all back together.
Luca
If anybody happened to get the license plate number of the bus that hit me last night, it would be appreciated.
Holy crap, I felt like hell.
The instant my eyes opened and I returned to the land of the living, my skull pounded like it would fracture.
It took a few minutes of blinking to finally bring the room into focus, my erratic heartbeat making the pain worse when I realized I wasn’t in my dorm.
My mouth - yuck - I didn’t know how to describe what it tasted like, but it was bad enough to make my stomach heave in a painful threat, the taste of bile coating the back of my tongue.
Moving took effort and focus, every bone and muscle rejecting the slightest shift in posture as I scooted my body up to lean against the headboard.
But none of that was the worst of it. Hell, the physical state I was in was nothing compared to the panic inducing realization that I’d not only spent the night in a strange house, I’d done so in Tanner’s bed.
Reminding myself to breathe, I blinked again and did what every stupid girl needs to do after drinking herself into oblivion and passing out among sharks:
I looked down.
And sure as shit, I was in nothing but a bra and panties.
What the fuck had I done?
It couldn’t be that bad, right? I wasn’t sore like anything sexual had happened. And considering how long it had been since I last slept with somebody, I convinced myself I would know if I’d been so dumb as to sleep with the man I hated most in the world.
So, why was I only half-dressed, and where the fuck was Tanner?
As if sensing my heightened emotional state, a knock sounded and the door swung open, Gabriel’s chipper green eyes meeting mine with humor dancing behind the color.
“Morning, sunshine.”
He wiggled a glass at me and held something up in his other hand.
“I thought you might need these after nearly giving yourself alcohol poisoning last night. I’m sure just the sound of my voice right now is like a hammer in your head.”
It was, but I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of admitting it. Closing my eyes against the glare of lights he flipped on, I pulled the sheet up to cover my chest.
“What happened last night?”
The mattress dipped next to me, Gabriel nudging the glass against the knuckles of my hand. Tucking the sheet where it wouldn’t fall, I accepted the glass and opened my other hand for him to drop two aspirin into my palm.
The cool water was heaven against my throat, soothing the burn while washing away the flavor of bad decisions.
“Well, you drank enough to qualify for attending an Alcoholic’s Anonymous meeting this morning, and then you passed out.”
“By myself?”
He blinked and smiled. “Are we ever really alone?”
“Cut the shit, Gabriel.”
Ow! My hand flew to my head as if that would stop my brain from digging its way out to run off.
Soft male laughter filtered in to mix with the banging of my pulse.
“You may want to wait for the aspirin to kick in before you begin yelling at me for something I remember warning you about.”
Asshole. He did warn me and that was the worst part of this.
“Why am I naked?”
He tugged at the sheet. I clutched the linen tighter to hold it in place and slapped at his hand.
“You can’t blame me for trying. I’m a healthy boy after all. And from what I can see, you’re not.”
Exhaling, I dared to open my eyes again and lock stares with him.
“Where are the rest of my clothes?”
His eyes darted to the floor and back up.
“There’s a pile by the bed I assume are yours.”
And now for the final question, the one I didn’t want to ask and I wasn’t sure I wanted the answer to.
“Did I have sex with Tanner?”
His shoulders shook with a bark of laughter, head shaking just a bit before he settled back on his elbows and grinned at me.
“Not unless he’s a two pump chump. And judging by the rumors I’ve heard around campus, he’s not.”
Frustration flooded me. “What does that mean?”
“It means he’s known to have sex for longer than five minutes.”
My voice came out on a growl. “Gabriel...”
The dimples indented his cheeks and he cocked his head.
“I’m messing with you. You’re cute when hungover. And no. You didn’t. Tanner left within minutes of bringing you back here. He hasn’t come back since. Had he left you with Shane, it probably would have been a different story. That one marches to the beat of his own drum regardless of what Tanner thinks. But someone,” he gave me a pointed look, “needed a babysitter last night after getting tanked. You should thank Tanner for watching out for you.”
Then why was I only in a bra and panties? I mean, it wasn’t illogical to think I’d woken up at some point and stripped my clothes off. I’d woken up sweaty from alcohol, the stench getting to me even in that moment. I swore vodka was oozing from my pores with how much I drank. And again, I didn’t feel sore there.
Relief wilted my shoulders. At least until I realized I had a reason to thank Tanner. Refusing to think about it, I focused on the one positive I had going for me.
“You owe me a free favor.”
I expected him to argue, but instead, he shrugged a negligent shoulder, as if owing me was no skin off his back.
“I know when I’m beat. Next time I enter into an agreement with you, though, I’ll be sure to close any loopholes. You’re a shark.”
He grinned and winked. “I like sharks, so no worries. It means you’re a dirty player like me. What’s the favor?”
My cheeks blushed at the compliment.
“Force Tanner to help me with my tort project.”
Gabriel had pretty lips. They were shaped well and a muted color of pink. Not feminine, but not hard either. They were expressive and tempting, but didn’t have the same cruelty as Tanner’s. He smiled at me and shook his head, the tilt of those pretty lips pulling a smile from me.
“Not that I can force Tanner to do anything, but he actually owes me a solid, so you’re in luck.”
Pushing to his feet, he stared down at me. “Consider it done.”
I watched him stroll across the room, his casual stride stopping when he reached the door.
“Do yourself a favor, Luca, and get a shower and brush your teeth before leaving. Your scent is offensive. We have spare toothbrushes under the sink.”
It surprised me that I was able to laugh without pain. The aspirin must have finally kicked in.
Gabriel left me with a wink, the door sliding closed with a quiet click.
My head fell back against the headboard and I thought that, maybe, this hadn’t been all for nothing. I had my favor. My GPA would be saved. And I hadn’t done anything I would regret - except for maybe looking like an ass for getting wasted.
But that was fine. It was worth the mark against my good girl reputation
if it meant Tanner would be a good boy and behave.
I hated how my next thought was where Tanner had gone for the night. Was I so bad that he couldn’t stand to be near me? Or maybe it was that I was drunk. Maybe there was a decent thread running through all his evil that insisted sleeping with me would have been taking advantage.
Or maybe he just didn’t want to sleep with me. Which I was fine with...except I wasn’t.
All I could think about was the way he kissed me. He didn’t just kiss, he possessed, claimed, dominated until you couldn’t think past the way his lips felt and the hard body pressed against you.
God, I was stupid for even thinking that.
He was an asshole. A genuinely horrible person, and I wanted nothing to do with him. Plus, I was technically dating someone, so there was that.
Sadly, the thought of Clayton didn’t make my heart beat near as hard.
My phone buzzed softly from my jeans on the floor. Staring at the distance, the last thing I trusted myself to do was bend down to pick it up, but it might have been Everly looking for me...or my dad.
Stretching down, I managed to curl a fingertip beneath the belt loop of my jeans and tug them up. When I straightened, my head reminded me with a single hard thump that I wasn’t fully recovered yet. It felt like my veins had been stripped away and my blood was sloshing around free of restraint.
Promising myself I’d never drink again, I hit the button on my phone and stared at the message.
Clayton: This isn’t working. I don’t think we should see each other anymore.
It was odd, that moment. I should have been upset, should have cared that a guy I’d been seeing would so rudely dump me over a text. But I couldn’t bring myself to care.
None of it mattered. I’d gotten what I wanted last night and it had to be enough.
Although I had to think that the timing was strange.
Forcing myself to my feet, I pulled on my clothes and padded barefoot into the hallway. After searching around for bit, I found a linen closet with clean towels, and the bathroom down the hall.
After showering and brushing my teeth, I felt like new, my stomach still rolling a bit from being empty, but it wasn’t anything some greasy food couldn’t fix.
