The Enemy Series

by M. E. Clayton

  But I already asked that question, and since Deke wasn’t going to tell me anything, I didn’t have an answer I could be satisfied with. So, I did my best to seemed grownup and unaffected. “A blood test seems rather ridiculous at this point, don’t you think?”

  Deke stared at me and, because his poker face was back on, I had no idea what he was thinking. He chucked all conversation when he said, “Go take your shower and meet me in the kitchen for breakfast.”

  “Then what?”

  “Then you spend the rest of the day and night hoping you don’t get pregnant,” he replied.

  Chapter 23

  Deke~

  I finally allowed Delaney to go home Sunday evening. It was hard, but I had to finally admit that we needed some space. Everything was happening too fast for her, and while I didn’t give a fuck, she was unhappy, and I couldn’t allow that.

  Oh, she spent all weekend letting me pleasure that body of hers, and I introduced her to things that would have had her grandmother clutching her pearls, but Delaney had been unhappy. Even when I was fucking her relentlessly, she hadn’t been happy. She had been horny, lustful, aching, and delirious with pleasure, but she hadn’t been happy.

  She’d been…heartbroken, and I knew it was because I admitted to having bare skin sex with someone else before her. The jacked-up thing? I loved Linnie to pieces, but had I known I would come to feel the way I felt about Delaney, I never would have gone bare with Roselyn. I would have stayed in my lane and let that be for Liam. I was Delaney’s only one, but she wasn’t mine, and I could see how that would make her feel unimportant.

  I had thought about telling her I loved her, but I was afraid she’d think I was only saying it to help pull her out of her insecurities. I wanted Delaney to believe me when I told her.

  I also knew I was going to have to talk to Linnie about all this.

  We were all posted in front of the school like we usually were, only this time, I was going to let Delaney and Ava walk to first period together. I needed to get my shit together before I approached her. I wanted to be able to tell her about Roselyn.

  “Fuck, man,” I said, running my fingers through my hair as I watched Delaney and Ava pass us. “How do you guys fucking do it?”

  “Do what?” Ramsey asked.

  “Let Em and Linnie out of your sights,” I replied, frustrated beyond hell.

  Liam snorted. “I wouldn’t if she didn’t live with me,” he answered.

  “He’s right,” Ramsey added. “Waking up with Emerson every morning and going to sleep with her every night is the only thing that allows me to let her have a life during the day.”

  “Move her in, Deke,” Liam said. “Move her in this weekend, or you will lose your mind with that unanswered freedom she has.” Ramsey grunted in agreement.

  We were silent for a bit before I said, “She asked about Roselyn Friday night.”

  “What did you tell her?” Ramsey asked.

  “Nothing,” I admitted. “It’s not my secret to tell.”

  Liam’s eyes widened, and they looked like huge blue orbs. “You actually told her it was none of her business?”

  “No,” I huffed. “Well, not in those words, exactly. I just told her never to question me about Roselyn ever again.” My two best friends were looking at me like I was the dumbest motherfucker on the planet. “What?”

  “Deke, how much do you like this girl?” Ramsey asked. I just stared at them, not saying the words. Ramsey let out a deep breath. “That’s what I thought.”

  “You’re going to have to tell her, Deke,” Liam advised.

  “And what about Linnie?” I asked. “We always agreed her reputation would be a priority.”

  Just then the girls returned from the restroom, and all conversation ceased. It wasn’t that any of us were ashamed of the relationship Roselyn had with me and Liam, it just wasn’t a topic anymore. Besides, it took a lot of convincing on Liam’s part so that Roselyn didn’t think badly about herself for what she did, none of us wanted to chance her slipping back into that mind frame.

  But I had to talk to her about it.

  I needed no secrets between me and Delaney.

  The first warning bell rung, and I said, “Linnie, skip first with me, will ya?”

  She looked over at Liam. “If I skip with Deke, can I persuade you to share your notes with me?”

  Liam’s grin was positively wolfish. “I’m positive you can,” he replied with a wink.

  Emerson laughed while Ramsey just said, “Let’s go before we all fucking skip.”

  As the gang headed towards the school’s entrance, I grabbed Linnie’s hand and walked her back to my car. We needed absolute privacy for this conversation, and I didn’t want to wait until this afternoon when we got out of school. I wanted to settle this…discomfort with Delaney the sooner the better.

  Before I lost my ever lovin’ mind.

  I opened the passenger side door for her, and once she got settled, I closed the door and made my way around the hood to get into the driver’s side. When the door shut behind me, she asked, “What’s up?”

  This was harder than I thought it would be. I was asking Roselyn to give up a piece of herself for someone she didn’t even really know. But I had to do it. I was in love with Delaney, and…well, I just had to do it. “Delaney asked me about you Friday night,” I told her.

  Linnie’s bottom lip disappeared between her teeth. After a few seconds, she asked, “About the rumors?”

  I nodded. “She asked me if the rumors were true,” I admitted.

  “What did you say?”

  “I told her to never ask me about you again.” Linnie’s eyes widened. “Then, she asked me if…if I’ve ever been bare with another girl before.”

  “With another girl?” she stressed. “So, you guys slept together this weekend? It’s official?”

  I nodded again. “We went to my place after I dragged her out of the party, and she spent all weekend at my place.”

  Linnie’s blue eyes crinkled as she smiled. “Do you love her? Or is it too soon for that?”

  I snorted. “Have you met Ramsey and Emerson?” She laughed, but it was time to get serious. “Yes, Linnie,” I answered. “I love her-correction, I’m in love with her.”

  Roselyn was quiet for a few seconds before saying, “Let me tell her, Deke.”

  “Lin-”

  She threw her palm up to stop me. “Just hear me out, Deke,” she said, and I nodded because…well, this was Roselyn. “No girl wants to know half the story. You can tell her what happened and explain how it’s over and all, but she’ll have questions about how I feel. Hell, she’ll have questions about how Liam feels.” Roselyn reached over and took my right hand in hers and squeezed. “You can tell her you have no feelings for me other than friendship, but she’ll wonder if I have any.”

  “But-”

  “Deke,” she continued, interrupting me, “trust me. From someone who…knows, and is a girl, she’ll have questions you can’t answer. She’s going to want to know if…threesomes are something you’re into and if she’ll need to…accommodate that.”

  “That’s bullshit, Linnie,” I barked. “You were the only one and…you were special. That wasn’t...”

  She shook her head but smiled. “I know that, Deke. I’ve long…gotten over my issues. But…unless you were there, it’s hard for people to wrap their minds around what we did. Hell, I was there, and I struggled to wrap my mind around it.”

  “What about Lee?”

  Roselyn shrugged a shoulder. “You know he doesn’t care about that stuff.” She let out a soft laugh. “One thing Liam’s made clear is that he’s not ashamed of me or what we did. The secrecy was to keep me and Emerson from having to fight them catty bitches that would have come out of the woodwork had they known.”

  I laughed because she wasn’t wrong. Liam and I had never been ashamed of what we shared with Roselyn, but we weren’t ignorant of our popularity. We knew if our arrangement got out, Roselyn
’s life would have been hell. And Emerson’s a fighter. She would have been scrapping left and right to defend us.

  Looking over at Roselyn, I knew I needed to trust her. “Are you sure this is the way to go?”

  “We’re the emotional ones, Deke,” she answered. “It’s better to hear the explanation from someone of the same mindset.”

  I understood what she was saying, but I didn’t necessarily agree with females being the emotional ones, because Delaney made me feel all kinds of emotions. “Okay,” I conceded. “We’ll do this your way.”

  “Can I ask you something?’ she asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Admittedly, I don’t know much about Delaney because we’ve never run in the same circles, but…” Roselyn gave me a sad smile and I wanted to punch something because I knew what she was going to ask. “Well, do you think she’ll-”

  “Stop,” I growled. “Whatever her opinion of what we did, it will not affect our friendship, Linnie.”

  “You say that now, bu-”

  I shook my head at her. “There’s no ‘but’, Roselyn,” I said interrupting her. “If she loves me-”

  “Does she?” she cut in sounding hopeful.

  I wanted to reassure her, but I couldn’t lie. “No,” I replied. “Not even a little bit.”

  Chapter 24

  Delaney~

  Something was going on.

  Deke ignored me this morning as Ava and I walked through the yard into Windsor, and he was quiet during second and third period. He didn’t even make me sit with him when he arrived late for second and I was already seated in the front row.

  I really started getting anxious when I was able to leave second of my own freewill, meet up with Ava, and go to third without Deke or his entourage present. The only time there was any hint of this weekend was when I had walked into third and Deke was already seated in the back. Our eyes met, and he lifted his chin as if daring me to sit anywhere else.

  I wasn’t going to lie. I had wanted to sit in the front just to get a reaction out of him because his silence was driving me nuts, but I didn’t. I conceded like a wuss and sat next to him, with Roselyn sitting on the other side of him. She had spared me a timid smile, but that was about it. Once third was over, Deke grabbed my hand and walked me to my locker to meet Ava. Once kiss to the side of my head, and he was gone.

  I almost cried.

  Ava had immediately rushed me to the restroom where we skipped fourth and I told her everything. I hadn’t had time to talk to her all weekend other than random texts assuring her I was alive, but Sunday night when I finally got home, I had spent the evening trying to wrap my mind around what I was doing with Deke.

  And, now, Ava was staring at me like I just sprouted an extra ear right before her eyes. The scrutiny was making me edgier than I was already feeling. “Quit looking at me like that,” I grumbled.

  She huffed, “How else am I supposed to look at you, Delaney? I mean…you just told me you spent the entire weekend in bed with Deke freakin’ Marlow.”

  We were sitting on the floor of the last stall with our knees drawn up, our backs against opposite sides. “Oh, come on,” I whined. “You knew this was coming. I admitted as much the day he beat up Winston.”

  Her brows finally found their way back to their original spots. “I know, I know,” she muttered. “It’s just…holy crap, Delaney. You’re sleeping with Deke Marlow.”

  Holy crap, indeed.

  “I know,” I whispered miserably. “I just…he’s been acting so strange today that…I think the challenge is over, you know.”

  I saw Ava’s beautiful face morph into pure, unadulterated fury. “Delaney, if you’re telling me Deke used you this weekend and, now, he’s done with you, I will fuck him up, I swear to God,” she seethed.

  “No, no,” I said soothingly. “I don’t think it’s…” Who was I kidding? I didn’t know what anything was like. My eyes started to water, and I think the emotional turmoil of the entire weekend was finally catching up with me. “I…I think I might…”

  “Oh, fuck balls,” she breathed. “You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”

  I let out a pitiful laugh. “Crash and burn, right?”

  She went from outraged to sympathetic instantly. “Where the sharks play,” she agreed.

  We stayed seated until the lunch bell rang, a sign that fourth period was over. “Since I can’t stay in here crying all day, lunch?”

  Ava chuckled. “We can always ditch the rest of the day?” she offered.

  I shook my head and looked at my best friend. “I’m tired of being a coward,” I told her, and I realized I meant that in all things. It was time to face Deke, Winston, my parents, and whoever else felt they had a say in my future.

  Ava waited patiently as I splashed my face with some cold water and put myself together. We exited the restroom, but only to be brought up short by Roselyn Bell standing outside the door. She shot Ava a quick glance before looking back at me. “You’re a hard girl to find, Delaney,” she said sweetly. “This is the fourth place I’ve looked for you at.”

  “Why are you looking for me?” I asked. “Is everything okay?”

  She glanced at Ava again and said, “Can we…talk privately?”

  I looked over at Ava. “It’s okay,” I assured her. “I’ll catch up with you later.”

  Ava didn’t look worried, so much as…sad. Like she was sending me off to meet my doom. “Are you sure?” I nodded before she went on her way.

  Roselyn looked towards my back. “Is anyone in there?” she asked referring to the restroom. I shook my head. “Okay, let’s go in there.” I followed her into the restroom and remained silent as she locked the door, giving us privacy.

  When she turned towards me, I asked, “What’s this about?” I hadn’t meant to sound short, but I wasn’t sure how much more my emotions could handle.

  Her pretty blue eyes looked serious against her multi-colored hair and easy-going reputation. “Deke, uh…told me about this weekend,” she came right out and said. “He told me…you asked him if the rumors were true about me, him, and Liam.”

  I could feel my face heat with embarrassment. It was one thing to ask Deke when I was calling his bluff on his bullshit, but it was quite another thing to have Roselyn Bell talking to me about this. “I’m…I’m sorry, Roselyn,” I muttered. “It wasn’t my busin-”

  She threw a hand up to stop my apology. “Delaney, it is very much your business since you and Deke are together,” she replied.

  “Wait, we’re no-”

  Roselyn held up her hand again to stop my protest. “Whatever you think is going on, Delaney, you and Deke are together. You’re just…having a harder time coming to terms with it. Trust me, I know.”

  “How do you know?” I asked, and Roselyn Bell proceeded to tell me about her stepbrother and the night she came to date both Liam and Deke.

  I listened in pure fascination as she told me about the suggested gang rape, the way the boys went up to her room to protect her, the way it changed from protection to affection…she told me everything. Well, not details, but the gist of their relationship. The only detail she included was the monogamy, and that’s when I knew she was the other girl Deke had referred to.

  When she was done with her story, she said, “I’m sorry if…if this makes you uncomfortable or puts a…strain on your relationship with Deke, but I’m not ashamed of the relationship I had with them. And I’m not going to pretend to be, Delaney. It was a secret at the guys’ insistence to protect my reputation.”

  I had so many questions. I mean, I knew people had threesomes, but this hadn’t been a threesome. This had been a threesome relationship. “Liam doesn’t get…jealous?” I asked, putting my confused feelings on hold until I could get a better grasp on this…revelation.

  “No,” she answered. “It’s not like that. Deke was always…extra. It’s always been Liam who I connected with and loved. Don’t get me wrong. I love Deke to death. He’s one of my best f
riends, but that’s it.” She looked sad, and worried. “I know it’s hard to…understand, but…I wanted to assure you that…other than friendship, there is nothing more between me and Deke, Delaney.”

  Then a thought occurred to me. “Is that why you and Emerson cleared the air with Ava? Because you guys didn’t want to be hypocrites with your relationship with Deke?”

  Roselyn smiled, not at all offended by my question. “No,” she said, shaking her head. “Emerson was just being Emerson because she’s badass like that. I cleared the air because I truly don’t think about Liam and Ava. I know firsthand that you can sleep with someone and not be hung up on them afterwards. I know firsthand you can sleep with someone and feel nothing but friendship for them afterwards, Delaney.” Her words were hard to digest. “When I look at Deke, I see only my friend-a best friend, but just a friend, nonetheless.” She shrugged a shoulder. “I’m just hopeful that when Ava looks at Liam and Ramsey, all she sees is Liam and Ramsey, you know.”

  “I can tell you that Ava has long moved on since junior high,” I assured her. “I…this is just a lot.”

  Roselyn nodded. “I know,” she agreed. “I know, but if things go south between you and Deke, I don’t want it to be because of…our past. And I really want us to be friends without…just real friends.”

  It was a lot to take in. I wasn’t exactly jealous, but…I was still feeling second best with as loyal as Deke was to her. I knew I needed to take some time to process everything she just told me. Not to mention the way he mostly ignored me all morning had me confused as hell.

  “I…it’s a lot to take in, Roselyn,” I admitted. “And with the way he’s been treating me this-”

  She huffed out a sweet laugh. “He’s acting weird because he thinks you’re going to freak out and have nothing to do with him anymore, Delaney,” she divulged.

  Well…“Oh…”

  “Yeah. Oh,” she chuckled.

  After a few quiet seconds, I said, “Thank you for telling me. I know it couldn’t have been easy.”