by Piper Rayne
Maddie doesn’t pick her head up off the table when she nods. I wonder how long they’ve all known each other?
“Sorry for interrupting…” Chelsea says.
Victoria’s wide eyes focus on mine. “OMG, she didn’t.”
“She did.” I nod.
“You girls are all single?” Chelsea asks.
“Yeah,” Vanessa answers warily.
“And friends?”
“No we’re strangers,” Lauren says and rolls her eyes at her friends.
“This is them!” Chelsea points to the table. “This was totally us six months ago!”
“Oh.” Victoria’s interest is piqued and she gets up and takes a seat at their table, too.
“What’s your story?” Chelsea asks.
All three of the girls seem to look at one another confused about why Chelsea is all up in their business. I don’t blame them.
“We should leave these ladies to themselves,” I say.
“Nonsense,” Chelsea shuts me down. “You don’t mind, do you? Are you guys planning on bidding?”
“Hey babe, what’s going on?” Dean approaches with a similar looking drink to Chelsea’s.
“She’s bothering these three nice women.” I point to the beautiful girls across from me.
He glances down to her and she shrugs like ‘come on this is going to be fun.’
“Yeah, I’ll be over here. Don’t let her bid for you girls, okay?”
Two of them blush at Dean. Not that I blame them, there’s no question that he’s a hottie—the boy next door with a sexy smirk.
Roarke pauses briefly at our table, leaning down to speak into my ear. “You okay?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m going to join Dean.” He nods to the table the three of us were sitting at and heads over.
Seconds later, Reed is sitting with the other two guys at the table beside us.
“Let’s get back to you,” Chelsea says to the brunette who now has her eyes poised on a man across the room dressed in firefighter gear. They must make him wear that in the hopes that it makes a woman want to throw her cash down to win a date with him.
“Excuse me?” she asks in a tone like someone just offended her. “I’m not sure that’s any of your business.”
“Maddie loves the hottie in the corner,” Lauren says. “The one with the cop and paramedic.”
Chelsea’s mouth hangs open. “You know Mauro?
The brunette’s eyes widen and her face grows beet red in the space of a second before she grabs her drink and sips from the straw.
“Since she was like what? Fourteen?” Lauren says.
“Shut up, Lauren,” the Maddie girl says, spearing her friend with an evil eye. “We went to the same school. Sure, he’s hot. I just…”
“Admire him from afar,” Lauren says, finishing her sentence. “She’s loved him since the day she set foot at St. George.”
“St. George? You guys went there?” Chelsea asks, practically vibrating in her seat.
At this point Victoria and I are silent, heads bobbing from one person to the other.
“Yeah,” Lauren says.
“I went to the public school in the area, Lane Tech.” Chelsea beams. “I bet we grew up near each other. It’s how I know the Bianco brothers. So you know them, too? Let me call them over.” She points to the group.
“NO!” Madison screeches and smacks Chelsea’s hand down.
“That would entail Mauro knowing who Madison is,” Lauren deadpans.
“Why would he not know you? St. George isn’t that big.”
Madison and Lauren exchange a look and I see that the tall blonde, Vanessa, seems to be as lost as Vic and me.
“Let’s just say they ran in different circles,” Lauren says. “She was too good for him then and she’s too good for him now.”
“So you think you know better than her?” Chelsea asks Lauren.
“Yep.” She crosses her hands in front of her.
Chelsea grabs the pallet in front of Madison and slaps it down in front of Lauren. “You select who she bids on then.”
“No way!” Maddie says. “She’ll have me with some meathead guy with monster muscles who can’t hold a conversation.”
Lauren points to Madison. “I resent that comment. Tad was an engineering major.”
“And he’s still in college trying to make the dream happen,” Vanessa says with a laugh.
“Well, he was gifted in other areas,” Lauren insists.
“Aren’t they all?” Vanessa rolls her eyes.
“It’s not my fault you pick the three and a half inch floppy dicks.” Lauren nudges Vanessa.
“Then it’s settled.” Chelsea picks up Lauren’s paddle and hands it to Vanessa and then hands Vanessa’s paddle to Madison. “You each pick a guy for the other one.”
“No way,” Madison hands Vanessa’s paddle back. “She can’t pick for me.”
Chelsea relaxes back in her chair and sips her water.
“You’ve had way too many trips to the bar. Our tastes are completely opposite,” Vanessa objects, which kind of surprises me because of the three of them she seemed like the up-for-anything kinda girl.
“It’s one date. It’ll be fun!” Chelsea insists.
“Then you do it.” Madison tosses her friend’s paddle into the middle of the table.
“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.” Dean leans back on two legs of his chair telling us he’s been listening the whole time. “She’s taken.” He rubs her stomach again and Chelsea beams.
“You don’t have to do it, but I think it would be fun.” She stands and pats Madison’s arm. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me, but Mauro really is a great guy.”
Madison’s cheeks flush pink and I don’t miss the way Lauren’s tamped down her dislike for him. Her eyes ping-pong between Madison and Mauro and I hope the gears are shifting. Maybe giving her friend a date with the one guy she’s been pining over might be the best gift she could give her.
“Where are all my single ladies?” the MC booms over the microphone and I slide out of my seat and back over to the table with Roarke. His arm instantly comes around to rest on the back of my chair. “Let’s meet the first responder bachelors up for auction tonight.”
I hope they take Chelsea up on her idea. It seems like a fun thing to do with your single friends. After all, what could possibly go wrong?
EXCLUSIVE Prequel to BLUE COLLAR BROTHERS Series!
Chapter One
* * *
Lauren walks into Vanessa’s bedroom sporting her usual black slacks and plain blouse—the dressiest clothes she owns. “You owe me big for this, she says. “You’re forcing me to bid on some guy in order to win a date with him. These guys all probably have a hero complex already. I can’t imagine what a bunch of women bidding on them will do for their egos.”
“You need to turn right back around and find a dress to wear.” Vanessa circles her finger and points to the door.
Lauren groans and rolls her eyes before leaving the room.
These two are forever fighting over Lauren’s fashion sense—or lack thereof.
“Can I borrow these?” I hold up a pair of silver hoop earrings from Vanessa’s jewelry box.
“Sure, Maddie. They were my mom’s, though, so just don’t lose them.” Vanessa smiles, walking into her closet wearing only her silk bra and panties. I have no idea how her super model figure can stay intact with the crap she eats, but I’d be confident too if I was a tall blonde who looked like I stepped off the pages of Cosmo.
“I won’t.” I slide the earrings on, staring at my reflection in the mirror over her dresser. Usually, I’m a stud earring kinda girl, what with hoops posing a hazard when I’m working, but I think these earrings add a little something to my look tonight.
I barely recognize myself since I took the time to straighten my hair and apply make-up. So, not me. I prefer my ball caps and yoga pants—quick, easy, and practical.
Not that I d
on’t enjoy dressing up, but this entire charity bachelor auction thing we’re attending to support Vanessa’s dad is messing with my psyche. It’s hard to shut down the ‘she’s super smart’ reputation I had in high school. And yes, that’s a nice way of saying I was a nerd with a capital ‘N’. In my opinion, super smart is a compliment, but I was never the ‘and she’s got the looks to boot’ girl.
“What about this? Too slutty?” Vanessa walks out of her closet in a skin tight, see-the-indentation-of-her-belly-button dress.
“Um… Your dad is going to be there right?” I remind her, and her eyes widen.
“See you’re so smart.” She unzips the dress, stepping out of the red fabric and tossing it in her closet.
“Maybe put it back how you found it?” I suggest nicely.
“I did.” She’s stone-cold serious.
How she grew up with a police officer for a father and did not develop into a neat and orderly person is still a mystery I’ve yet to solve.
“I’m going to head downstairs to wait for you guys,” I say.
“Wait!” Vanessa rushes out of her closet wearing a much more appropriate dress. It’s a tad short but the neckline is high and it’s more form fitting than painted-on Lycra.
“You look gorgeous as always,” I say.
Her face lights up like it does every time she receives a compliment. “Thanks.”
“I’m not wearing a dress,” Lauren says, returning to Vanessa’s room and collapsing on the unmade bed in her boy shorts and bra. “I don’t own a dress.”
I pick up a Kit Kat wrapper I spot on the floor. “Seriously, Van, you’re going to give us mice.” Dropping the wrapper with melted chocolate on the nightstand.
Both my roommates are so free with exposing their bodies as I sit here in my usual swing dress—the only style I can pull off that flares out over my hips and thighs.
“Borrow something.” Vanessa rushes into her closet, returning a minute later holding a grey dress with fringe around the bottom. It’s low enough that it will show off Lauren’s sizable breasts but high enough that her cleavage won’t be starting the conversation.
“It’s so…short and…tight,” Lauren says.
Vanessa holds it up in front of her. “It’s perfect for your figure. Come on. This is my dad’s night and if I show up there with you looking like…”
“What?” Lauren sits up, holding the dress in her hand. “Say it.”
“Just you’re beautiful and I don’t understand why you hide it under all those athletic clothes.” Vanessa sits down at her vanity, opening up her make-up bag.
Lauren reluctantly drags herself up off the bed and grabs the dress where Vanessa left it lying beside her. “Because half the time I sweat while I’m at work and my job entails flexibility. Speaking of which, where were you last night when I got home?” Lauren steps into the dress with ease.
“When I got up at 5:00 a.m. she was just sneaking in,” I say, raising my eyebrows in Vanessa’s direction.
She continues to concentrate on the mirror, one eye shut and one eye open, lining her lid with a dark shade of brown. “I told you, I had a date.”
“Really? Because the guy you said you were going out with was at the bar I went to after soccer last night,” Lauren says.
Vanessa’s hand stops mid swipe but continues flawlessly a second later. If I hadn’t sensed Vanessa acting odd lately, I wouldn’t have thought much about it, but she’s always gone at night now—even during the week.
She says she works somewhere only to say she lost the job weeks later when we want to show up and visit her. Something’s off, but Vanessa isn’t the kind of person you try to catch in a lie, you actually have to catch her red- handed. I know this, but Lauren, well, she thinks she can bully the truth out of her.
“Because he was a dud. I picked up a new guy. Lives in Wrigleyville.”
Lauren’s vision shifts to me and I shrug. I’m not sure what she wants. For me to strap Vanessa down on the bed and dangle cupcakes in front of her until she confesses?
“You know you can tell us anything,” I politely say in my motherly tone to suggest we won’t judge.
“Do you want me to describe in great detail all the orgasms his giant dick gave me?” She sets the eyeliner down on the counter and it cracks in half from the pressure.
Yeah, something is definitely up.
“It wouldn’t be the first time.” Lauren rolls her eyes and turns around, pulling her long auburn hair up off her neck.
“Did you need me to zip this up for you?” I ask, my fingers already reaching for the zipper.
“Thank you.” She ignores the fact she never actually asked me.
Vanessa’s full-length mirror is right in front of her and I watch as she examines herself. A small smile creases her lips while she stares at her reflection.
“Yeah this is way girly.” Her arms contort in a motion I’m guessing she learned in yoga trying to reach the zipper to undo it.
“Wear it. You look amazing.” I stop her hands and she lowers her arms to her sides.
“I’m going to be uncomfortable all night,” she whines but I think part of her wants to wear it, she’s just not used to flaunting her assets this way.
“That’s the point of being a woman, L. God, you’re such a tomboy.” Vanessa heads back into her closet.
Lauren and I exchange another look until Vanessa emerges holding a pair of heels.
“Not going to fit me, Amazon.” Lauren stares at the black heels in Vanessa’s hands.
“They were my mom’s and they’ll fit you. And I might add that five eight is not an Amazon.” Vanessa slips on her own shoes finishing her outfit off and looking like she’s ready to step out of a limo with Bradley Cooper.
“Well, to me and Maddie you are.” She puts on the heels Vanessa hands her and instantly transforms from my friend who prefers sneakers and track pants, into a piece of arm candy.
“I have no idea how I became friends with two short girls.” Vanessa shakes her head in mock disappointment.
“I’m going to grab my clutch and shawl.” I step out of the room into the hallway.
“Shawl? What are you eighty?” Lauren yells after me.
“It’s fall in Chicago. You can freeze your ass off tonight. I won’t be sharing while we wait for a cab.” I head to the master suite down the hall.
Hey, I own the house we all live in so it’s only fair that I have the biggest room with my own private bathroom. Not that I don’t come home to find one of the girls in my jacuzzi tub on a regular basis. The only time it proved awkward was when I once sat down on the toilet to have a pee and realized Vanessa actually had a guy with her under the suds.
Yet another reason I don’t plan on us being here much longer. Once I get my new project secured and off the ground I’ll be moving out.
I flip houses and not the whole buy a house and earn a few thousand replacing the floor and adding a backsplash kind of flip. You know the old run down houses that no one wants? The ones people think are abandoned because they’re haunted, or the ones people think the homeless or heroin addicts live in? I buy those, strip them down to the bones and rebuild them into something worth coveting. What most people think is beyond repair isn’t worthless. I love being the one to show people the beauty hidden within.
Okay that and the fact that if I can buy a place for a steal, there’s a nice profit to be made. When I get a good contractor that is.
I enter my closet and grab the shawl in question off a hanger and wrap it over my shoulders, then take my clutch from the top of my dresser where I set it after I loaded it with everything needed for the night—money, ID, my credit and debit cards (you never know when you’re going to run into trouble and need either), my lipstick (so I can touch up when needed. I especially hate when they don’t have straws for their drinks—it makes your lipstick last only half as long), a couple Advil (because if they offer wine at the festivities tonight, there’s potential for a headache), my cell phone and
a couple of pieces of gum. I’ve never really needed the gum because I’m not the type of girl to kiss a guy I just met, but I can’t say the same for my two friends.
I leave my bedroom and begin to walk toward the stairs.
“You’re not wearing a shawl tonight. You’re twenty-seven, Maddie.” Vanessa rips it off my shoulders and tosses it in the trash of the main bath when we walk by.
“Hey! That was my find at Nordstroms Rack,” I argue.
“And it should have stayed on the rack,” Vanessa says, her heels clicking down the wooden stairs that should be finished next week.
The girls and I have what we call Cheapster Challenges. We each go shopping and try to come back with the best deal on a clearance item. Whoever paid the lowest price and has the most fashionable item wins. When I say wins, I’m talking about a Froyo with unlimited toppings. Yeah, we’re not exactly big spenders here.
“Then you’re paying for the cab when I’m freezing.”
We stop and wait at the bottom of the stairs for Lauren to join us.
“With any luck you’ll have a big body keeping you warm tonight,” Lauren says from the top of the staircase.
She begins her descent and Vanessa and I stare up at her like Freddie Prinze Jr. in the movie She’s All That, minus the red dress and minus the fact that we don’t have penises. You get what I’m saying.
“Lauren,” I sigh. I’m taken aback, only having seen her this done up in the past five years at her brother’s wedding.
“Jaws up. Let’s go.” She bypasses us, walking straight out the front door.
Vanessa and I exchange a mutual look of humor at the fact our tomboy has grown up.
“COME ON!” she screams.
Okay she hasn’t changed that much, I guess. We shuffle out the door, heading to the bachelor auction and whatever adventure awaits.
* * *
Chapter Two
* * *
