Just Friends (Blue Beech)

by Charity Ferrell

  “You’re also not going to seduce me in your bra and panties.”

  “Get over it.” I roll my eyes, bunch the shirt up in my hand, and toss it onto the floor before patting the bed. “It’s cold, so get in here before the panties come off next.”

  He throws his head back. “Fuck, you kill me.”

  I grin mischievously.

  “Get in bed. I’ll be right back.”

  Not giving me the chance to ask what he’s doing, he leaves the room. Minutes later, he returns with his laptop. Setting it on the bed, he pulls off his shirt and then his jeans, showing off his semi-erection.

  I lick my lips, my mouth watering.

  “Nope,” he groans out, snapping his fingers before pointing at my mouth. “Keep your lip-licking and eye-fucking to yourself tonight. Not happening.”

  “You suck,” I grumble, dramatically falling back on the bed.

  He collapses next to me, pulling his computer on his lap, and rests his back against the headboard. “Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

  “You can take a break, you know,” I comment, rising up onto my elbows and focusing on him.

  His eyes go to the laptop. “I want to get as much work in as I can. This shit is time-consuming. Also, you can bet your ass, James is frantically clearing his shit right now. I need to get to everything before he does.”

  Guilt crashes through me as I frown. “You’re taking time away from your game. That’s not fair.”

  “I’m okay.”

  “What if you don’t find anything?”

  He shrugs, rubbing the back of his neck, kneading away his tension before going back to work. “I’ll plant something on his computer then.”

  “Are you serious?”

  “Yes,” he answers sharply, not giving any more explanation.

  “Rex,” I start, stress in my tone. “I don’t want to do this shady.”

  “You’re not doing shit; it’s me.”

  With that, he goes back to his work.

  My eyes get heavy, all energy for an argument gone, and just before I fall asleep, what I need to do to make this right hits me.

  I don’t deserve this.

  Rex doesn’t.

  Margie doesn’t.

  Any other girl who James has manipulated doesn’t.

  It’s time I stand up for myself.

  “Have you even slept?” I ask the question as my eyes slowly open to find Rex in the same spot he was in my bed last night, the computer still on his lap.

  An easy smile hits my lips.

  All this time, I was scared he’d leave me after finding out about James, about the photos, but he’s here, by my side and ready to fight this out with me.

  I’ve always loved my relationship with Rex, but now, it’s so much more. My heart bursts with so much passion for this man.

  I loved him in high school.

  I tried fighting my attraction in college.

  Now, there’s no doubt, no fighting. This is the only man who will own my heart.

  He stole my heart the day he tried bribing me to write a damn Shakespeare paper.

  “Morning, sunshine,” he says, paying me a quick glance, his eyes sleepy, before going back to work on the computer. “I got a few hours.”

  Guilt consumes me.

  He’s losing time to work on his video game.

  Losing sleep.

  All for my stupidity.

  I should be the one going through James’s shit. Sure, I’d need to figure out how to hack and all, but it’s not fair to Rex.

  I’m sitting, pulling the sheet up my chest, when he speaks again, “You know, Iowa has a law criminalizing revenge porn.” He moves his gaze my way, finally giving me his full attention. “If he posts intimate or sexually graphic pictures without your knowledge, he can be criminally charged for it.”

  “So what? We wait until he posts the photos? We can’t get him in trouble for threatening to post them?”

  “I’m still looking into that, but I wanted you to know that if he does do anything with them, he can get in big trouble. We need to bring that to his attention if he doesn’t already know and make it clear you will press charges against him.”

  “If I were to press charges … my parents would find out.”

  “Yes, probably.” He frowns, going back to work. “Until then, we find more blackmail.”

  “What if I have an idea?” I ask around a gulp.

  He raises a brow, his typing paused. “Shoot.”

  Margie stares at me from across the table. “I was shocked when you texted me since you’ve been dodging me for months.”

  Same, Margie. Same.

  It’s what needed to be done.

  No more running scared from James.

  No more allowing him to control me.

  He needs to go down, and unless someone steps up, he’ll do it again … and again … and again to innocent women. I’ve decided to take on the job of breaking that cycle—or at least attempting to. First things first. I need to apologize to Margie, and then I need to ask her for a favor.

  After telling Rex my plan, I texted Margie, asking her to meet with me. Whether she’d reply, I had no idea. Thankfully, she did, and three hours later, here we are, sitting at a table in the park, having coffee.

  It’s strange, seeing her after everything that’s happened.

  Neither one of us is the same as we were before James stormed into our lives.

  The happiness that took permanent residence on her face when we lived together has dimmed. James stole some of her light, and I want to punch him in the face for it.

  We’d cluelessly slept with the same man.

  Whether she knows that, I’m not sure.

  I’m taking a risk by being here. Last time we talked was when she had James’s phone, and I don’t know the status of their relationship. Even though James said they broke up, he could’ve manipulated her into getting back together. She could tell James everything I say.

  I take a sip of my caramel macchiato, wishing it contained something stronger for liquid courage. “I apologize for being distant. I’m truly sorry.”

  Gripping her iced coffee, she leans back in her chair, focusing her blue eyes on me. “What happened, Carolina? I was so confused. I confessed a huge secret to you, I was heartbroken, and then I never saw you again.”

  Here goes nothing.

  I’m struggling to find the right words even though I rehearsed them so many times on the drive here.

  “That night”—I close my eyes, pulling in a calming breath—“when you told me about sleeping with Professor Cordry …”

  “Yes?” She raises a brow, sadness spreading over her face.

  “That other girl he was seeing—his wife—that’s me.”

  She gapes at me, her mouth dropping open. “Wait, what?”

  “We’d been sneaking around for six months and stupidly gotten married a week before you found out.” The memory tears a hole in my chest. “I had no idea he’d been dating you, too. When you told me, a wave of shock hit me, and I freaked out. When I ran off, it was to confront him about the cheating.”

  “Wow.” She cringes, resting her coffee on the table. “Did he know we were roommates?”

  “He said he didn’t when you met, but I don’t believe anything that leaves that man’s mouth.” I blow out a deep breath. “We got in a fight over Rex texting me at one in the morning and didn’t talk for days. I think that’s when he met you.”

  She releases a spiteful laugh. “God, I was so flattered at the time. I was used to dating stupid frat boys, and here was this guy, making me dinner at his house instead of inviting me to parties where he did keg stands.” She throws her arms out. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “When I confronted him, he threatened me with—”

  “Let me guess,” she cuts in. “Pictures?”

  “You, too?”

  She nods. “Yep. He begged me to get back together after the whole wife thing, saying they had a quick fling in Vegas and everyth
ing was over. Since then, we’ve been off and on—off every time I catch him with someone else. A few days ago, I found he’d been talking to women on some stupid secret app and receiving naked pictures of them, and I finally left him.”

  “According to Rex, he has quite the collection of nudes.”

  When I asked Rex if any of the photos were of Margie or other women we knew, he shook his head, saying he didn’t know because he wasn’t going to look through them.

  “How’d Rex know?”

  “He hacked into James’s accounts to find information to stop him from blackmailing me.”

  “Oh, good old Rex,” she says with a smile. “The man who’d do anything for you.”

  I grin at the truth in her words.

  “Tell me that grin means you two finally got your heads out of your asses and admitted you’re in love with each other.”

  I nod. “Sure did.”

  A genuine smile crosses her face. “I’m so happy for you, Lina!” She pauses for a moment. “I’m also sorry for calling you a skank-ass ho.”

  A laugh escapes me. “Since you didn’t know I was the wife, I totally understand. I would’ve thought the same thing.”

  “Those words would’ve never left your mouth.”

  “I said, I would’ve thought the same thing.” I blow out a breath and frown at the subject change I’m about to throw out. “So, you and James are done? You’re no longer dating him?”

  She shakes her head. “Dating? No. Talking? Unfortunately. He won’t leave me the hell alone.”

  “He likes the power,” I say matter-of-factly.

  She nods in agreement. “The asshole sure does.”

  “He said if I told you what a piece of crap he was, he’d also release pictures you’d sent him.” I’m unable to meet her gaze for a moment as my stomach turns. “It was a reason I was scared to tell you, but I can’t keep letting him do this to women.”

  “I understand.” She reaches forward and settles her hand over mine before giving it a tight squeeze. “His threats are brutal. It’s scary, hearing them and knowing it might jeopardize my future career.”

  Margie’s majoring in communications and journalism. With her goal of being a news anchor, a public figure, nude pictures of her online would demolish any job opportunities.

  We separate when I pull away to take a long sip of my coffee. The fear of James retaliating against Margie for me exposing him terrifies me, making me question my plan. I need Margie’s permission before I make any decisions. She deserves that respect from me.

  “We need to band together,” I say, sitting up straight in my chair. “Rex spent last night reading through James’s texts and emails. There were more women he was threatening, and Rex managed to get their contact information. Legally, we have nothing on him since he hasn’t gone through with his threats—”

  “That we know of,” she adds.

  “That we know of,” I repeat, my eyes meeting hers. “What we do have on our side is his profession. We can report him to the university. There’s no way, if we step forward and expose him, the university will overlook it. James will get in trouble. The more women, the more they’ll have to listen to us.”

  “What if the university doesn’t do anything?”

  “Rex’s brother’s girlfriend is a journalist.” I shrug. “I’ll have her write an exposé on him.”

  “Another problem.”

  I raise a brow, fully aware there can be a million problems with this plan of mine.

  “If we do this, it’ll piss him off more. Who’s to say he won’t release them out of spite?”

  That’s a question I’ve contemplated a million times.

  “It’s a risk we have to take,” I explain around a nervous sigh. “Before I meet with the dean, who we have a meeting with in a few hours, I’ll text James a web link that tells him the legal repercussions. Let’s pray it works.”

  With Rex’s parents being who they are, he had his mother reach out to the dean and schedule a meeting for us. All of this is happening so fast, and I don’t know how my head isn’t spinning. Not only did I contact Margie, but I’ve also reached out to the other women on campus.

  Margie sits across from me, eyes wide and speechless as she drags her fingers through her hair—her nervous tic.

  “You don’t have to come,” I whisper, fighting to keep my voice strong as I tap my chest. “But I’m done with being his puppet.”

  It takes her a moment as she sucks in a few long breaths before replying, “What’s the next step?”

  “We have to talk to the other women,” I say, dragging my phone from my crossbody bag. “Two have already agreed to meet with me, and I’m waiting on responses from the other two. I don’t know if James has pictures of them since Rex isn’t a creep, but he did send them threatening texts.”

  I pull myself up from the chair, lean forward, and rest my palms on the table. “You in?”

  Margie abruptly smiles. “I’m in. Fuck Professor Cordry.”

  26

  Rex

  A long yawn escapes me as I trudge into my apartment.

  The exhaustion of being up all night, searching through James’s shit, is hitting me.

  Breaking into his phone was child’s play, and it turned out, it was all I needed to discover sufficient evidence for him to get in trouble with the university.

  He’s made a game out of exploiting female students for the past four years. He’d meet them, date them, gain their trust, and then ask for nudes. When they declined, he’d assure them the photos were safe with him and other bullshit lines. My stomach curled, vomit pushing its way up my throat, when I read the threatening messages he’d sent to them when they attempted to break up with him. It looked like Carolina was the only one who’d gone far enough to marry him.

  He’s a womanizer.

  A creep.

  A fucking predator.

  Men like him remind me of my father—manipulative and power-hungry.

  Carolina is taking a risk by turning him into the university, and I’m so damn proud of her for showing that asshole her resilience.

  James underestimated Carolina and the people who had her back. His manipulation might’ve worked on other women, but Lina has someone who’ll kill for her, die for her, break every bone in someone’s body to protect her.

  I can’t wait for that fucker to go down.

  The idea of catching up on sleep rolls through me, but I stop myself. I’ve been on standby since Carolina left this morning, and my phone has been glued to my side as I wait for an update.

  I’m pouring my sixth cup of coffee when Carolina calls.

  “Hey, babe,” I answer. “How’s it going?”

  “Margie and I spoke to the other girls James harassed, and the six of us are going to the dean,” she replies with hope in her voice.

  Good.

  Let him get what he deserves.

  The hopefulness in her voice changes into worry. “We’re doing this.”

  “I’m proud of you, babe.” I wish I were there, at her side, wrapping her in my arms.

  “Fingers crossed and pray to every saint that James doesn’t retaliate.”

  Let him fucking try.

  “You sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

  “As much as I’d love that, this is something us girls need to do together.”

  “I understand.” I open the fridge and grab the leftover box of pizza. “I’m here if you need anything. Call. Text. Send a raven.”

  Her voice turns gentle. “I know, and that’s why I love you so much.”

  It’s heaven, hearing her say those words.

  Sure, we’ve shared I love yous plenty of times, but it hits different when it’s more than friendship.

  Never did I think we’d be as intimate as we are now.

  “Keep me updated.” I plop down on the couch and take a bite of the cold pizza.

  “I will,” she says in almost a whisper.

  “When are you coming home?”
/>
  “I’m going to stay at Margie’s tonight, so we can catch up and be there for each other.”

  Even though her staying with Margie means she won’t be with me, I smile. Carolina has never had many girlfriends and was thrilled when she and Margie became close. It broke her, losing that.

  I nod even though she can’t see me. “Good luck, baby. I love you.”

  “I love you, and thank you for having my back.”

  My hand goes to my heart. “Always.”

  I pause my game, tossing the controller onto the floor, when my phone rings.

  Two hours have passed since I last heard from Carolina. I’ve refrained from calling or texting, waiting for her even though it’s been killing me.

  It’s a dick move for frowning when it’s Kyle’s name on the screen, not hers.

  I hit answer. “Yo.”

  “Hey, brother,” he says. “I have good news for you.”

  Leaning back on the couch, I kick my feet onto the table. “I hit the lottery?”

  “Even better. You can become my neighbor.”

  I straighten. “Really?”

  “Really. I talked to Chloe, and she’s willing to work with whatever you need. I’m going to text you a contact we have from the bank, so we can get you a loan.”

  The first thought that comes to my mind is Carolina.

  Living with Carolina.

  Sharing a house with her.

  Letting her decorate it with all her girlie shit … but demanding she allow a few video game touches throughout the place.

  It’s perfect timing. My lease expires in two months, and Josh’s girlfriend has been up his ass about him moving in with her.

  Kyle goes on to give me price details and his contacts, and in the background, I hear Chloe say she’d love to have me as her neighbor.

  There’s no stopping me from chuckling. “Looks like she’s more open to being my neighbor than she was with you when you moved in.”

  Chloe hated Kyle then, and he took great pleasure in annoying her. He’d greet her with a cheerful morning every day, and she’d respond with either a, “Fuck you,” or the middle finger.