#Selfie

by Cambria Hebert

  I wondered what I was gonna have to do to keep that promise.

  She made a contented sound that made me feel like the most powerful man on Earth. Is this what the other side of just sex felt like? Is this what it was to have all this… emotion wrapped up with our bodies?

  Well, damn.

  There was no going back from this. This was the standard to which everything, everyone else would be measured. She was the one that no one else could compare to.

  I held her for a long time. Until she drifted to sleep with me still inside her. Since I didn’t know what time it was, I finally made myself lift her off. She made a sound of protest and tried to grab me back.

  I chuckled and laid her on the couch, taking a moment to pull her shirt over her naked form. After I cleaned up, reluctantly I pulled on my boxers and jeans. I’d love to spend an entire night with Ivy in a bed with no clothes at all. All night. All naked.

  She stirred and saw me looking at her and reached out a hand. I couldn’t resist; I fitted myself on the couch with her practically covering my body. Her lips brushed over my jaw and then my cheek.

  My heart turned over.

  A little scratching sound and a mini whine came from the floor. Ivy giggled. “Prada.”

  “Hells no,” I said. That rat was not coming up here.

  “She’s used to sleeping with me.” She kissed the underside of my jaw again.

  Picking up the tiny ball of fluff, I put her on the couch, and she wagged her tail. I told her to go to sleep.

  Ivy giggled when Prada plopped herself in the center of my chest and lay down.

  “Rat,” I whispered.

  The rat licked me.

  Ivy giggled again. “She likes you.”

  “What about you?” I asked. “Do you like me?”

  She thought for long minutes. “I think I still don’t like you.”

  I grunted and palmed her ass. “Me either.”

  “Can we stay like this? Just for a little while?” she whispered.

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  She snuggled closer and sighed.

  This was when a man knew he had it bad. I never cuddled. I never held women after sex. And I never let a rat dog plop its ass on me and go to sleep.

  But here I was, smooshed and smothered by both.

  Oddly, I’d never liked anything more.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Ivy

  The sound of someone moving around in the kitchen woke me. I stretched a little and realized I wasn’t alone. I cracked one eye open. Then the other.

  Braeden was lying so close he was partially beneath me. His jaw was shadowed with stubble and his long black lashes swept against his cheeks as he slept.

  I did it again.

  I had sex with him. But it wasn’t just sex. It was more, and it had been incredible. I lay there and stared at him, taking in his jaw, his neck, and the feel of him breathing beneath me.

  “You’re staring,” he whispered. His voice was deeper in the morning.

  “You’re worth staring at.”

  Hearing our voices, Prada jumped up from her sprawled-out place on Braeden and started dancing around. B grunted and lifted her gently down onto the floor.

  His hand slipped beneath the blanket and up the side of my leg. His fingertips flirted with the bare skin of my butt, and desire slammed into me hard.

  Braeden lifted his head and came forward, capturing my lips in a soft morning kiss.

  “I like waking up to you,” he murmured.

  Rimmel laughed from around the corner in the kitchen, and we both stiffened at once. How could we forget we weren’t actually alone?

  “Hang on, Murphy. Geez. You act like I never feed you,” she said, laughter still in her voice.

  “Ohmigod.” My words rushed together.

  He smiled and kissed my forehead. “Relax. She’s in the other room.”

  “She’s gonna see us. She’ll know.”

  “Know what?” He turned his head, and dark eyes searched mine.

  I knew he was asking something more than what I’d been implying. I wasn’t ready for that yet.

  “She’ll know we did it,” I whispered.

  His chest vibrated beneath me with silent laughter.

  “I have to get up.” I rolled over him. I would have fallen on the ground, but his arm caught me. Instead, my feet swung around and I sat up beside him.

  “Ivy.” Braeden caught my hand when I tried to dive for my pants.

  I stopped and looked over my shoulder.

  He rose up onto his elbow. “You’re beautiful.”

  I basked in the unexpected but totally welcomed compliment for a moment before rushing to throw on my pants and run my fingers through my hair.

  I was standing near the couch (fully dressed, thank goodness) when Rimmel rushed by the doorway for the room. She saw me there and stopped. If she seemed surprised Braeden was on the couch where I’d slept last night, she didn’t say a thing.

  “I’m taking this little girl out in the yard. Coffee’s on!”

  “You’re my favorite sister!” Braeden yelled after her.

  When she shut the door, it cut off her laughter. I blew out a breath. Braeden caught my hand. “I’ll talk to her, okay?”

  I knew he meant Rimmel.

  I sat down on the coffee table in front of him. “I’m telling Missy.”

  “Good.”

  I was sort of surprised he was so nonchalant about it. He noticed and chuckled. “I told her there was never gonna be an us. I was kind of a douche about it.”

  My mouth fell open. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because it’s the truth.” He shrugged and sat up. “And because I was in a shitty mood.”

  “When?” I demanded. Why hadn’t she said anything to me about it?

  “The night at the club. The night I thought you went home with Trent.”

  I gasped. “You did say he!” I knew it. But I hadn’t realized he was there because he thought Trent was too.

  He picked up his shirt and pulled it on.

  “You were jealous,” I whispered.

  “I told you I didn’t want you to go out with him.”

  “I told you I was.”

  He paused and pinned me with a dark, ominous stare. “And after last night?”

  I looked away.

  He caught my chin and made me look at him. “The thought of him touching you makes me crazy, Blondie.”

  I was secretly thrilled by that.

  “What about you, Mr. Just For Fun?” I snapped.

  He looked smug. “You jealous?”

  I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t like getting orders.” I sniffed.

  He flashed his teeth when he laughed. “I haven’t been with anyone else since you.”

  “You know what they say…” I scoffed.

  “No, what?”

  “Once you go Ivy, you never go back.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. Then he caught me around the waist and tossed me on the couch. “Well, I really don’t want him touching you then.”

  “We aren’t together,” I told him, all playfulness gone from my tone.

  His jaw clenched and he rolled off me before standing. “I know that.”

  I shouldn’t have said that. But it was the truth.

  Rimmel stuck her head back inside the door, and Braeden grunted. “It’s safe.”

  Prada barreled in the room and barked at me. Laughing, I scooped her up. “Let’s get some coffee,” I told her.

  I gave Rimmel a sheepish look on the way into the kitchen.

  She just smiled.

  I heard them talking in the other room but didn’t hear what they said. Glancing at the clock, I noted I had two hours before I had to be in class.

  Braeden walked in the kitchen and grabbed the coffee I’d made for myself out of my hand. He took a sip and smiled. “Thanks, Blondie.”

  I narrowed my eyes.

  “Rim’s gonna drive me over
to get your car. I’ll bring it back here and then look it over.”

  “You mind if I use the shower while you’re gone?” I asked Rim.

  “Extra towels are on the counter,” she replied.

  I reached for my coffee, and Braeden snatched his hand away. “Get your own!”

  I glared at him, but he didn’t mind. He and Rimmel slipped on some shoes and left. The entire time, he was teasing her about driving the Hellcat.

  When they were gone, I made myself another cup of coffee and went to shower.

  I wondered what Rimmel would say to me when we were alone.

  Funny, I wasn’t worried about it anymore. Last night had been so satisfying I didn’t have it in me to regret it.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Braeden

  “So you and Ivy?” Rimmel said the second we got in the Hellcat.

  I was in the driver’s seat because I figured I could spare the Cat some torture and at least drive one way to get Ivy’s car. Rim would have to drive it back because I wasn’t letting her drive a car I needed to make sure didn’t have anything wrong with it.

  I took a sip of the coffee—a woman who made good coffee and was good in bed? It might as well be Christmas!—then handed the mug to Rim.

  I backed the Cat out of the driveway, aware of her staring daggers at me through her glasses the entire time.

  “There is no me and Ivy,” I finally said.

  “Yeah, that looked like nothing this morning.” She snorted. It was the most obnoxious sound. So obnoxious it was cute.

  “You couldn’t have seen much.” I scratched the back of my head and silently replayed the sex we’d had last night on the couch. We’d been quiet… right?

  “When I got up this morning, I walked into the living room. You two were wrapped around each other and Prada was in the center.” She sighed. “It was so adorable. I almost took a pic.”

  “Tutor girl, you better not be taking pics of me when I ain’t looking.”

  She gave me a sly smile. I wasn’t sure I liked it. I thought about the weird Buzz notification that was on my phone when I looked this morning. Seemed the Boss was gonna start plastering pics everywhere. I felt bad for the poor schmuck that was gonna be in them.

  “Rimmel,” I growled.

  “Tell me!” she demanded.

  I turned the corner, and Ivy’s Corolla came into view. I had a flashback of how she looked standing there crying, tears soaking her skin. I’d driven this road a thousand times in my life and never realized how ominous it could look at night. Of course, it was daylight now and everything appeared peaceful and the way it always had.

  I stopped the Cat near Ivy’s car, reversed it, and turned it around—just trying to make it easier on my sis—and then shut off the engine.

  “Be a good girl and put your books on the seat so you can see while the big kid goes and checks out Ivy’s car for damage.”

  Rimmel stuck out her tongue at me.

  Laughing, I tossed her the keys and got out. I heard her muttering about being too short to drive, and I smiled to myself as I rounded Ivy’s car. Rimmel’s bickering faded away as I focused solely on the car and the body. I checked the tires over first, mainly the front passenger one because that’s where the deer hit the car. The tire seemed fine, the air level was stable, and the car sat level on the ground. The hazard light on that same side was cracked; it would need to be replaced. I could switch that out with just a simple trip to an auto store.

  A dark smear of dried blood was on the broken part. I made a mental note to clean that off before I gave Ivy back the keys.

  There was also a dent in the front quarter panel. I could probably pop that out as well with the correct tools. There didn’t appear to be any scratching or damage to the paint. Her windshield wasn’t cracked, and everything else seemed to be fine.

  It was pretty much what I expected, but even so, I got in, started it up, and listened to it run. All the gauges looked good; the engine seemed to be running strong. She was almost out of gas, and I didn’t like it. What if she stalled out somewhere? What if she got stranded? I mean, seriously, she needed to be more responsible.

  I was gonna have to fill up the tank before I brought it back.

  It was the only responsible thing to do.

  I left it running and jogged over to the Hellcat where Rimmel was sitting in the driver’s seat. “Aww, aren’t you cute on those books,” I teased her.

  “Ha-ha.”

  “You good to go? You can make it back to Rome’s, right? I’m just gonna drive this a few miles before I bring it back, make sure it’s good.”

  Rimmel tilted her head. “She hit a deer, right?”

  “Technically, it hit her.”

  “So I’m thinking the worst is a dent. Why wouldn’t her car be running good?”

  “I’m just making sure. You guys drive around in that thing a lot.”

  She smiled a smile I didn’t like. I started shaking my head. She nodded. “You like her,” she sang. “You’re worried about her safety.”

  I glowered down at her and crossed my arms. “You done?”

  “Are you kidding?” she cracked. “I could go for months on this.”

  “Rimmel,” I growled, a large note of warning in my tone.

  She didn’t seem very threatened.

  She sighed. “I’m happy. My BBFL and my best friend together? It’s perfect.”

  “We aren’t together,” I said through clenched teeth. “This isn’t a fairytale or some soap opera on TV.”

  “Because of Missy,” she surmised.

  “And because of me.”

  It took a couple minutes for her to connect the dots. When she did, she leapt out of the car. “That’s why you never date girls? You’re afraid—”

  I cut her off. “Don’t you have class?”

  She narrowed her eyes. “I’m prepared to miss it.”

  You know it’s serious when Miss Studious herself is willing to miss class.

  “Look.” I scrubbed a hand over my face. “Last night was…” Really fucking hot, my mind supplied, but this was my sister. I wasn’t talking about my sex life with her. “It was.”

  Rimmel put me out of my misery. “I understand. You guys are still working it out.”

  I nodded because I didn’t want to talk anymore.

  “Can I just say one thing?”

  “You will even if I say no,” I pointed out.

  She shrugged because she knew it was true. “Even before I saw you guys this morning, I knew something was up. I’ve seen the way she looks at you. I know you try to hide it, but I’ve seen the way you look at her.”

  “Rim,”

  “I support you.”

  “What?” I don’t know why, but that surprised me. First Rome and now Rim. I thought everyone would be against Ivy and me. Not only because of Missy, but because they all knew I would just screw it up and hurt her. Then our little group would fall apart.

  “You both have been through some stuff. Some more recent than others. But I think you two can understand each other, maybe even balance one another out.”

  All I heard was we’ve both been through some stuff. “What stuff?”

  “What?”

  “What stuff has Ivy been through?” I demanded. I wanted to know.

  Behind her glasses, Rimmel’s eyes widened a bit.

  “Some more recent than others. We both know my shit is long gone. So that means she’s been through it recently. What the fuck don’t I know?”

  “It’s really not my place to say.”

  I laughed, but it was a harsh, ear-splitting sound. “Are you kidding? You can’t say that then tell me never mind. Might as well hand me a million dollars and tell me not to spend it.”

  “You could put it in the bank? Save it for later?” she offered meekly.

  I gave her a look and clenched my jaw.

  She started to wring her hands and fidget.

  I relented. “Hey,” I said gruffly, “I won’t hurt you
.”

  “I know.” She smiled weakly. “But I don’t like it when you get mad at me.”

  “I’ve never been mad at you before.”

  “Well, I don’t like it.”

  I groaned. “How the hell does Romeo keep up with you?”

  “I’m not telling someone else’s secret,” she maintained.

  So it was a secret? Must be bad if Ivy didn’t want anyone to know.

  “It’s cool, tutor girl.” I motioned for her to get in the car, and she did quickly. She probably wanted to get away from me.

  I shut the door and leaned in the open window. “You know I love ya, right?”

  She smiled. “I know.”

  “I’m not mad at ya.”

  “I know.”

  “Don’t rip the transmission out, okay?”

  She snorted. “This car likes me.”

  I stepped back and watched her drive away. The poor Cat was practically crying as it went down the road.

  I climbed back in Ivy’s ride and adjusted the seat. Damn, she was short. I needed me some legroom. I drove the car to the nearest gas station and jogged inside to put some cash on the pump. As the tank was filling, I wondered about what Rimmel said.

  Ivy’s secret.

  What the hell was she hiding?

  Chapter Thirty

  Ivy

  The day dragged by.

  Probably because of what I had planned once classes were finished for the day. It was something I dreaded, something I tried to talk myself out of every hour upon the hour. You would think I would welcome the way the day seemed to go on forever.

  But I didn’t.

  I wanted to get this over with. I wanted to know where the pieces of my friendship with Missy would lie.

  I was going to tell her about Braeden and me. That I somehow developed feelings for him. I was going to leave out spring break… and probably what happened last night. I didn’t want to hurt her. I was also prepared to tell her—to promise—I wouldn’t date him. I wouldn’t act on the way I felt.

  Okay, yeah, I guess it was kind of a lie.

  But the way my stomach twisted the entire day, I knew looking her in the face and telling her I slept with him would just be too hard. I wasn’t prepared for the look of betrayal on her face. I wasn’t prepared to hurt her that way.