by Geri Glenn
With my thumbs, I caress her cheeks as our breaths mingle, and Georgia’s hands wind around my neck, her fingers twisting themselves into my hair, pulling me closer until there’s no space left between us. I can feel the beating of her heart against my chest.
“Well, would you look at that, Janet? These two found other ways to entertain themselves.”
Georgia’s body locks tight at the sound of Zack’s voice. Pulling my lips from hers, I glare at him from over her shoulder, wanting nothing more than to wipe that shitty grin off his face.
“I take it you had no luck?” he drawls, his grin growing wider. “Well, at least not with Carter, anyway.”
Holding out my fist, I extend my middle finger, and finally let Georgia go. “Actually, asshole, we did. We found Trey. He said Carter’s in.”
The smile falls from Zack’s face as he stares back at me. “Jesus.”
Janet lifts her hand slightly, like a school child waiting to be called on in the classroom. “Um…excuse me, but what does that mean exactly?”
Zack shakes his head. “It means things are about to get a whole lot worse.”
Twelve
Georgia
The memory of Tripp’s lips on mine plays through my mind as I drive Janet home. I think back to the first time we’d met, and how his cold gaze had reminded me of a shark. Tonight, there had been no coldness. Just raw, burning heat. And I want more.
“So, you and Tripp, huh?” Janet quips from the passenger seat of my car.
Pressing my fingers to my lips, I have to fight to hold back my smile. “Yeah…uh, I guess so.” And then I remember Benjamin. “I mean…oh, God…” I glance at Janet. “What was I thinking?”
Janet shrugs. “That Tripp Fletcher is probably the reason for global warming. The man is hot.”
Laughter bursts from my throat before I can stop it. “You didn’t seem too torn up to go with Zack tonight.”
Even through the darkness inside the car, Janet’s blush burns bright on her cheeks. “He’s nice,” she admits quietly.
“Nice, huh? He couldn’t take his eyes off you.”
Janet’s face falls, the embarrassment from just a second ago replaced with something else. “I don’t think so. He was just being friendly.”
I don’t argue with her. Something tells me that Janet isn’t anywhere near ready to deal with the type of friendliness Zack wants to show her, and I’m not about to push her.
As we pull up in front of Janet’s apartment building, she unbuckles her seat belt and turns to face me. “Do you think Carter’s going to be all right?”
I sigh, my shoulders lifting and falling with sadness. “I don’t know, but he will if Tripp has anything to say about it.”
Janet seems to mull that over for a moment, before finally reaching for the door handle. “You know, I have an extra bedroom up there, and rent’s pretty cheap. It would save you having to drive so far each night.”
I gape at her, unsure of what to say. How had I just met this girl a week ago when it feels like she understands my life better than anyone else I know?
“Anyway,” she says with a shy smile. “It was just a thought. Good night, Georgia.”
“Good night.”
I sit outside the building, watching until Janet disappears inside. I did truly believe that Carter would be all right, but at what cost?
When Trey mentioned getting out of the Vipers, he had alluded to it being dangerous. What would he have to do to get out? And what would Tripp have to do to get him out safely?
Before I pull away, I reach into my purse, pull out my phone, and then turn it on. It takes several seconds for it to load up, and instantly, the alerts for voicemails and text messages start popping up one after another. Every one of them are from Benjamin.
Benjamin: Georgia, you need to call me back.
Benjamin: I don’t like this, Georgia. You’re not being fair. Call me.
Benjamin: Please, darling, I don’t want to fight.
Benjamin: This is getting ridiculous. Call me back. Now.
The rest of the messages are more of the same, and I don’t bother taking the time to read them. I can’t. Not anymore.
I don’t know what it is about coming to work on this side of town, but in a single week, I’ve come to realize that my entire life is a sham. Nothing is real. There’s no love, no passion.
My home life consists of me bowing to my mother’s every whim, and I do the same with Benjamin in my love life. I don’t want that. I don’t deserve that.
Benjamin might be angry, but I’m done. Now, if I can just find the courage to tell him that, and tell my mother that I’m moving out.
TRIPP
“What are you gonna do?” Zack asks. “That shit with Trey was messed up. You gonna just let it go?”
I rake a hand through my hair and blow out a heavy breath of frustration. The truth is, I have no fucking clue what my next step should be. I feel like I’m sinking, and I can barely keep my head above water. Only this time, Carter is sinking right along with me. “Right now, I just wanna find my brother. The rest I’ll figure out after.”
Zack leans back in his chair. “I can’t believe you didn’t lose your shit when Trey had his gun on your girl.”
My girl. That kiss. Georgia may not be my girl, but tonight, I’d realized that I sure would like her to be. The vision of Trey’s gun pressing into her soft flesh will haunt me every night until I deal with that son of a bitch.
“All in good time,” I tell him, just as the back door opens and Carter steps inside.
His clothes are rumpled and dirty, and I can smell the reek of alcohol from across the room. “Jesus, Carter,” I hiss, rushing to wrap my arms around him and reassure myself that he’s really here.
Carter chuckles. “Jeez, man, back off, would ya.” He wiggles out of my hold and stumbles toward the fridge. “Trey said you came looking for me. He was pissed.”
I exchange glances with Zack. Is he really acting like this is all no big deal?
“Where have you been, Carter? And stay the hell away from my beer. You smell like you’ve had enough.”
Carter rolls his eyes and shoves the bottle back into the fridge. “What the hell, Tripp? I thought you and Trey used to be friends. One bad night and you toss it all away? That’s fucked up and you know it.”
“Watch it, kid,” Zack warns from his place at the table.
“Is it true you got jacked into the Vipers?” I ask.
Carter attempts to stand up straight, but sways on his feet. “It is.”
The defiance in his glare does nothing to calm my anger. His attitude makes it grow stronger with each passing second. “So, what did you have to do? Steal a car? Rob a store?”
“Fuck you,” Carter spits, taking a step toward me. “I did what I had to do for this family, unlike you.”
His anger catches me off guard, but not as much as his words do. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?”
Carter flings an arm out, indicating the very house we stand in. “You can’t even keep the heat on in here, Tripp. You barely get any work, and I’m sick of eating fucking meatloaf all the time.”
This time, it’s me that steps closer to him, my rage barely in check. I see Zack stand from his spot at the table and come closer, clearly realizing that things are spiraling out of control. “I do everything I can to take care of you kids,” I growl. “I work my ass off. I cook, I clean, I take you to all of your appointments. I haven’t had a social life in years, and you’re telling me that you got tangled up with the Vipers because you don’t like what I serve your ungrateful ass for dinner?”
Carter’s face grows redder by the second as he glares at me. “Don’t do me any favors, Tripp.”
“Oh, I won’t,” I snarl, poking a finger into his chest. “But I’ll tell you what you’re going to do. You’re going to find a way to get out of this mess you’ve created without getting the shit kicked out of you, or worse. You’re going to go to school, the community
center, and then straight home. You’re going to do exactly what I fucking tell you to do until your eighteenth birthday. How’s that for a favor?”
His fist comes flying at me in a move only a drunk person can pull off, and I see it coming well in advance. Grabbing his wrist, I twist it, turning him until his back is pressed against my chest, my lips going to his ear. “Nice try, asshole. Now go the fuck to bed.”
Giving him a little push toward the hallway, I watch as Carter stumbles, catching himself against the doorframe. “You’re a real dick, Tripp,” he grinds out, and then he disappears up the stairs.
Zack and I stand there, both of us frozen in shock as we hear the door to his bedroom close. Carter and I have had our share of arguments, but never like this. This time, the little fucker actually took a swing at me.
Thirteen
Georgia
I place the ring on the table between us, ignoring the way it sparkles and shines beneath the flickering candlelight. I’ll miss that ring. “I’m sorry, Benjamin, but I can’t do this.”
Benjamin’s eyes drift up from the ring until they meet mine, and for a moment, I almost remember what made me fall in love with him in the first place. And then he opens his mouth.
“You can’t be serious,” he sneers. “You’re going to throw away what we have because I don’t like you working in the ghetto?”
I sigh. Of course, he would think that. “No, I’m returning your ring because I don’t think I’m what you’re looking for.”
“Georgia,” he says gently, leaning forward to cover my hand with his. “This is just a little bump in the road. Married couples have them all the time. We can work through this.”
That’s where he’s wrong. The more I think about being married to Benjamin, the more it feels like a prison sentence. I’ve lived my entire life trying to get out from my mother’s shadow, and lately, I’ve realized that I’d ended up engaged to the male version of her. I couldn’t allow it to happen.
“Look,” I tell him, pulling my hand into my lap. “I care about you, but I’m not in love with you. I thought I was, but I can see now that what we know of each other barely scratches the surface. You look at me and see the Addington’s daughter—rich, poised, educated. Perfect for a place at your side while you climb the company ladder to the top. I’m not that girl, though. I never was.”
“Love isn’t everything, Georgia,” he says softly. “I can provide for you, take care of you. Keep you in all the things in life you’re already accustomed to.”
He just isn’t getting it. “That’s exactly what I don’t want.” Reaching down, I pick up my purse and place it in my lap, ready to make a hasty exit, but then I have a thought. “Haven’t you ever wanted more? Haven’t you ever wanted to be with someone that set your soul on fire, or made your heart flutter in your chest? Haven’t you ever wanted to feel what it’s like to be in love?”
Benjamin’s jaw tightens as he picks up the ring, wrapping his hand around it in a tight fist. “Love is a sentiment, not a reality.”
I sigh. “And that right there is why we could never marry.” Calmly, I push my chair back and stand. “Goodbye, Benjamin. I wish you well.”
His face grows red with rage, but he doesn’t reply, and I don’t wait around for one as I head out of the restaurant. As soon as I hit the open air of the street, my heart soars, feeling lighter than I ever remember it feeling. I’d done it. I’d broken free of my mother, of Benjamin. Of everything I’ve always hated about the narrow-minded life I’d grown up in.
The time had come to fully embrace myself and who I really wanted to be. Money played no part in that. All that mattered was happiness, and now that I’d severed the tie from Benjamin, I knew exactly what change I needed to make next.
TRIPP
It’s almost eleven o’clock when the quiet knock comes. I pause the movie I’d been watching on Netflix and make my way to the front door. Who the hell would be here at this time of night? Zack is the only one that would show up like this, but he’s had a key for years, and he certainly knows how to use it. He’s proven that time and again.
The last person I expected to see on the other side of that door is Georgia, but when I swing it open, there she is. Her hair whips in the wind, the crisp air nipping rosy pink patches on her cheeks. “Hi,” she says with a smile. “Mind if I come in?”
I can’t take my eyes off her as I step back from the door and wait for her to come inside. The foyer into our house is tiny, and her chest brushes up against mine as she squeezes past me, causing a tiny burst of electricity to crackle between us.
“Sorry to call on you so late, but…well, I needed to talk to someone, and I couldn’t think of anyone I’d rather do that with than you. Were you sleeping?”
Ignoring the tightening in my chest her nearness has caused, I push the door closed. “No, not at all. Come in.”
She follows me into the house, unwinding her scarf and slowly pulling off her jacket. I’ve never been ashamed of my home before. I’d worked my ass off for every stick of furniture, every fork and spoon, every picture that hangs on the wall. That isn’t something many guys my age can say. So why does walking into my living room with Georgia Addington at my side suddenly change that?
“What did you want to talk about? Is everything okay?” Visions of Trey finding out where she lives and harassing her flood my thoughts, but she quickly squashes that with a shake of her head.
I motion to the couch and watch her as she takes a seat, her brown eyes crinkling at the corners as she smiles. “Nothing like that. It’s just…” She turns to face me as I sit down beside her. “I broke off my engagement.”
The confession is so blunt and so shocking, I just stare at her, open-mouthed, my brain unable to formulate any thoughts other than to register that she had just said she was engaged, and I didn’t like that one bit. Closing my mouth, I clear my throat and force myself to sound unaffected when I answer her. “You were engaged?”
She nods, her eyes lighting up with joy. My heart clenches tightly inside my chest. “I was. And now I’m not.”
Jealousy coils inside my gut at the very idea of her being engaged to another man. “Why are you telling me this?”
“Because I feel like shouting it from the rooftops!” she cries, a happy grin taking over her face. “I’ve finally realized that the life I was living was only a half-life, and I haven’t been myself. Ever. Until I started working here. Actually, maybe even until I met you.”
Her words swirl around me, still not making any sense. “But you hardly know me.”
“I know enough,” she reasons. “I know you’re brave and loyal. I know you value your family above anything else. I know you don’t give a shit what anyone thinks of you. Do you have any idea how foreign all of that is to me?”
All of what she’s saying is nice, every word acting as a little boost to my ego, but I still don’t quite understand. “What do I have to do with helping you see that?”
“It was you who taught me that it’s okay to stand up for myself. To choose my own path.”
Her expression is so earnest and happy, without even realizing it, I reach up and tuck a lock of her silky hair behind her ear. “You did all that on your own, Georgia. I’m just lucky enough to be here to see you do it.”
Silence fills the space between us as we stare into each other’s eyes. And there’s that burst of electricity again. It’s like static, crackling in the air between us, drawing us together.
“Will you kiss me again, Tripp?” she asks, her innocent question coming out breathy.
And I’m powerless. My heart makes the decision before my head can. Leaning into her, I brush my lips against hers. Just like I remembered, they’re soft and full, and though our kiss is just a whisper, there’s something all-consuming about the way it pulls me in.
When her lips part, our innocent kiss changes into something born of passion. This kiss is hot, fierce, and demanding. I pull her onto my lap, her knees pressing into the couch on
either side of me. Our breaths mingle in the space between us, and that’s when I realize I’m completely unprepared for this moment. Completely swept away by this woman that seems to be the polar opposite of me and everything I’ve known. Since the second I saw her, she’s all I think about. And now she’s here, her lips begging me to do so much more than kiss her.
Georgia’s arms wrap around my neck, pulling me closer. Her heart thrashes against her chest, the rhythm in tune with my own. I’m drowning in her now-familiar scent—warm, floral, and light.
Without warning, she tears her lips from mine and peers down at me through hooded eyes. “I’ve never been with any other man but Benjamin,” she pants softly, like the admission is something to be ashamed of.
“Why don’t we just take it slow?” My words are much more chivalrous than my thoughts. I want her naked beneath me more than I need to draw my next breath, but there’s no way I’m going to rush her. Girls like Georgia deserve better.
With a playful nip, her teeth sink into my lower lip as she grinds herself onto my cock, and I know she can feel how badly I want her. “What if, for once, I don’t want to take it slow?”
When she reaches for the hem of her shirt and begins to pull it up and over her head, my mind snaps out of the spell she has me under. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” My hands dart out to cover hers, tugging her shirt back into place. “Not down here.” I point to the ceiling above us. “Kids, remember?”
Her cheeks flame the most gorgeous shade of red, and I revel in how her blush travels down her throat, disappearing beneath the neckline of her shirt. Pressing a kiss to her lips, I stand, wrapping her legs around my waist as I move. Quietly, we climb the stairs that way, stealing kisses and touches as we get closer to my bedroom.
Once we get there, I close the door, keeping one hand on her ass to hold her to me, as the other tugs at her shirt. Georgia takes the hint, and in the soft moonlight streaming through the window, I watch as she removes her shirt. In an instant, her skin is pressed against mine.
