TANGLED

by Simone Elise

  “Soph, stop.” Josh’s hand moved off me and he cupped my face, forcing me to look him in the eye. “You aren’t pathetic.”

  “Yes I am! I am the pathetic ex-girlfriend that he can’t get rid of.” That was putting the situation nicely. I looked Josh in the eye. “How would you like it if you couldn’t escape your ex-girlfriend and she moved into your house and was suddenly at all family dinners?”

  It wasn’t a normal situation. It wasn’t healthy and it sure as fuck wasn’t fair to me or Kyle. I deserved to move on, not being forced to see him with his new girlfriend. And he deserved a clean break from me.

  Then Josh said something that surprised me: “I think it is good you are around.”

  “What?”

  “Every day Kyle is reminded of his mistake. I know my brother; he regrets what happened between you and him.” Josh so gently tucked my hair behind my ear. “He hates that you are talking to me too.” Josh smiled, a full blown cheeky smile. “I love watching him squirm. When he looks at you, I think he hates himself a bit more each time.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Trust me, he doesn’t hate himself. He hates me. I think Kayla is going to kill me at one of these family dinners with her steak knife.”

  Josh suppressed a smirk. “I think Kyle loves you too much to let that happen.”

  “Are you insane?” Seriously, had Josh lost his mind? “Do I have to remind you of our break up? Do I have to remind you he has a new girlfriend? That he just spent a romantic weekend with his girlfriend?”

  This time he didn’t suppress his smirk; he let it spread. It was like he knew something I didn’t.

  I huffed. “Well, if I die tonight at the hand of Kayla, remember to turn my electric blanket off.”

  Josh laughed. “Awe, sweetheart. I’ve missed your humor.” He leaned forward and kissed my cheek. “I’d love to say I could save you tonight, but I’ve got something I can’t get out of.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever. You just want to attend my funeral.” I winked. “Ok Hawkins, put me down. You have places to go and people to see who aren’t me.”

  I couldn’t hold up his day any more.

  He pulled me back away from the back of the door and I slid down his body. It looked like he didn’t want to let go of me and his hands froze on my hips as soon as my feet hit the ground. Yep, he didn’t want to let go of me.

  I thought it was a bit cute. I looked up at him, smiling, and his eyes ran up and down me.

  “You know that job you were thinking about taking?” His eyes slowly moved up my body, until he was looking me in eye.

  I nodded my head.

  “You aren’t taking it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I don’t want another guy seeing you like this.” He swallowed sharply, a tint in his eyes that I didn’t understand. “I have a need to kill Bax and Kyle just because they have seen you like this.”

  I laughed. He couldn’t be serious! I slowly sobered up. “Josh, Bax and Kyle have seen me in less than this.” They had seen completely naked. I frowned for a second. “But then again, so have you.”

  “So that’s it, Kyle, Bax and me, that’s everyone who has seen your body naked?” He questioned me like I held the million dollar answer.

  “Are you asking who I have and haven’t had sex with?”

  “No.” He shook his head. “But if Kyle, Bax, and me are the only ones you have seen you completely naked, I already have an answer to that question and don’t need to ask it. So the question stands, are we the only three?”

  I could lie? But he most likely would pick up on it. “It’s most likely pathetic that I’ve only been with two guys, right?” I said deflated. Compare me to Kayla she had more experience, knew more about sex than I. God, she was probably wowing Kyle with all her experience. “I bet Kyle is loving the upgrade.” And that’s what Kayla was to me: an upgrade.

  “Baby girl, look at me.”

  I shook my head, I didn’t need pity. “It’s fine, you should go.” I couldn’t pull my eyes off my feet. I felt behind me, twisting the door knob and opening the door. “Thanks for last night, Josh.”

  His hand lifted up my chin and he forced me to look up at him.

  “You aren’t a car. Kyle hasn’t upgraded from you. If you are anything, Soph, you are the grand prize, the woman every man would fight each other to death just to get you.”

  I rolled my eyes. “You are my friend, you have to say that.”

  He arched his eyebrows. “Have I ever come across as the type of guy that would lie to make you feel better?”

  I frowned. No, he wasn’t. Josh would never lie to make anyone feel better—not even me. It just wasn’t in him. A dim smile graced my lips. “Thanks, Josh.” I took a step out of his way, chewing my bottom lip.

  He paused in front of me and then moved slowly, as if giving me time to stop him if I wanted to, and he gently kissed the top of my head, lingering for a second. “I’ll see you soon.”

  He really was a good friend. He walked out the door, and I turned. “Oh, Josh?”

  “Um?” He turned back to look at me.

  I crossed my arms with a smile. “Don’t be a tight bastard and try and repair that throttle. Just replace it with a new one.”

  He frowned and then I watched as he understood what I was talking about. “You know me too well, Soph.” He gave me a wink and he didn’t seem completely terrified at the mention of the throttle, even though earlier it sent him into a meltdown.

  I watched him leave and I admit I was disappointed when I saw him close my bedroom door. Now I was faced with one question: did I call Bax or not? For some stupid and unexplainable reason, I felt like I would be betraying Josh if I called Bax.

  I didn’t know why I had this feeling. I didn’t know where I got that idea from. Josh and I were friends, that was it. Nothing more.

  Seriously, never ever would Josh see me as more than a friend.

  So why was I worried about what he’d think?

  Chapter Nineteen

  Soph

  Had I been blind for years? Kayla was obnoxious. Her hair. Her makeup. Her perfume. Her personality. Everything about her was obnoxious. Why was I only seeing it now?

  Now, as she gushed over every single detail of her weekend away with Kyle. I would throw up, but I haven’t eaten anything today apart from bits of this potato, which I was busy destroying but not really eating.

  Kyle and Kayla had spent the weekend at Kyle’s sex house. Well, it wasn’t his sex house. It was his parent’s house on the coast. But Kyle was the only one using it. We used to escape down to it, stay for the weekend. Walks on the beach, lounging around in the hammock, and then sex in the ocean, in the master suite, in the bathroom, hell, everywhere in the house. Yeah, it was fair to say it was his sex house.

  So I knew right now as Kayla told Louise how much she loved their unique dining table she must have experienced it up close and personal.

  Sex on the dining table, classic Kyle.

  My eyes bounced off my plate and, what do you know, Kyle was looking directly at me. When it came to these family dinners, he always took the chance just to stare at me.

  “Kyle and I had so much fun on the beach. And Kyle is such a good surfer.” Kayla put her hand over Kyle’s on the table.

  God, they were making me sick. Were Kyle and I ever that in love? It was sickly. Their relationship was just as obnoxious. I guess it should be expected. Even she would take a normal relationship and twist it and turn it

  I was suddenly disappointed a shark hadn’t taken Kyle off his board.

  “But I guess our weekend was boring compare to Sophia’s.” Kayla turned all attention on to me, a tint of vengeance and pleasure in her eyes.

  What the fuck.

  My weekend had been uneventful. I auditioned for a job, that now couldn’t take because I think Josh was serious about no one else seeing my body. But not just that, Josh said I was too good for it. He made a lot of good points, proving that he really was a good frien
d and had my back when I was about to make a mistake.

  Usually I liked to make a mistake on my own—you know, trip over, face plant. I never listened when someone told me I was about to make a mistake. Not when my parents told me. Not even when Kyle would warn me. I viewed a friendship as meaning that you are there in the good times and bad. And sometimes you couldn’t prevent me going through a bad time, even if you knew better and advised me off it.

  But this time, just this once, I was going to take Josh’s advice and not take the job.

  I narrowed my eyes at Kayla. She would have to know I spent the weekend by myself.

  She sipped her water and then put the glass down, an evil glint in her eyes. “You know the rumor around school is you are into the drug and party scene now, right? So I’m guessing you spent the weekend doing what you now do best?” She added a concerned pout to the end of her sentence.

  Again I was thinking what the fuck. She was the one into the party scene! She was the one experimenting with drugs!

  I glanced at Kyle, but I couldn’t read his expression. Meanwhile, Kayla was enjoying me being examined like I was a dead bug on a glass plate under a microscope.

  Louise and Jed’s eyes widened in surprise and I knew what was coming next. A lecture.

  “Actually, she spent the weekend with me.”

  Every head in the room snapped to the doorway. My mouth fell slightly open.

  “Josh, what are you doing here?” Louise got up in a hurry, sounding so happy. “Sweetheart, I thought you were busy today, otherwise I would have invited you for dinner.” Louise moved so quickly around the table to hug her son.

  Josh hugged her back, but his eyes were on me, like he was silently telling me not to panic.

  He had told me he had something on tonight, that he couldn’t get out of, so what was he doing here? Josh was a busy guy, and I knew for a fact he hated these dinners. Every time he was forced to come to one, I would watch him hate every second of it as he sat across from me.

  Louise pulled back from him, looking delighted. “Your father said I wasn’t allowed to make it mandatory that you came tonight. You know let you live your life.” She rolled her eyes. “He thinks I baby you. But a mother can’t stop worrying about her son.”

  A small grin spread across Josh’s lips. “Yeah, I love you too mum.” Josh let go of her.

  “I’ll get you a plate,” Louise said and headed for the kitchen.

  “Kyle, move over and make room for your brother,” Louise said from the kitchen.

  Kyle rolled his eyes and wasn’t in a hurry to get up to move down. Josh and Kyle always sat next to each other. I think they were brought up sitting next to each other.

  Though for some reason I had noticed Kyle was even more of a jerk to Josh than normal lately. Sure they never got on—complete opposites. But they usually made more of an effort with each other. Like, as much as they disagree on things, they always came together.

  Josh walked to Kyle’s side and did something that made Kyle do a double take. I watched, startled, not believing what I was seeing as Josh picked up the chair next to Kyle and walked around the table with it, placing it next to mine.

  And not just on my side of the table, but right next to me. Like, as close as Kayla’s and Kyle’s chairs were together. Josh causally sat down next to me and extended his arm on the back of my chair causally like it was no big deal.

  I could nearly hear Kyle grinding his teeth from as he gave his brother a death glare.

  Josh’s eyes were on me. He gave me a wink and then he turned his attention onto Kyle.

  “So how was your weekend, Kyle?” Josh said causally. Louise placed a plate of food in front of Josh and gave him a frown, most likely questioning why the hell Josh was sitting next to me.

  “Fine.” Kyle snapped and leaned back in his chair, looking like he wanted to kill his brother. “So you and Sophia,” he spat my full name out as if it was sour, “spent the weekend together?”

  Kyle wasn’t asking nicely, politely or because he wanted to know. No, he was asking with judgement in his voice and daring his brother not to say yes. As if Kyle would launch across the table and kill Josh if he did.

  Josh glanced at me and gave me a small smirk, and then he looked back at Kyle. “Yeah, Soph and I had a good weekend, if that is what you are asking?”

  Tension. That was all I felt. Tension between Josh and Kyle. It was tight and bloody thick.

  Kyle scoffed. “I can’t think of one thing that you two could do together.” Kyle waved a hand at us. “The nobody and the criminal. Seriously, what do you two have in common?”

  Then it hit me.

  Kyle was right. I was a nobody. Kyle had made me someone and then he took it away. My eyes suddenly dropped to my plate. Yeah, Kyle was right. The nobody—that summed me up. Again Kyle was right. Josh shouldn’t waste a second me with, not because he was a criminal, but because anyone could see I was a nobody.

  I didn’t think one word could hurt me. But I shouldn’t be surprised. It was a word off Kyle’s tongue after all. Kyle always knew how to get to my heart and twist the knife he had in there sharply. God, he had me nearly in tears with just one word!

  I was going to get up and leave, let them have their family dinner. I wasn’t hungry to begin with. Yep, I was leaving. I dropped my knife and fork and went to push myself away from the table. But then Josh’s arm that was the back of my chair dropped around me.

  “Soph and I have shit load in common.” Josh’s voices wasn’t friendly. And I didn’t know the expression he was giving Kyle because I wouldn’t look up from my plate.

  I literally was a second away from tears.

  I knew Kyle didn’t think much of me. How could he? I wanted to run. I wanted to leave. Now.

  “More than what you and her have in common.” Josh’s tone hardened. “You wanted to know how she spent her weekend? With me. In her bed. That enough of an answer for you?”

  “In her bed? Since when did you sleep in any woman’s bed?” Kyle’s voice had an edge to it. “Everyone knows you don’t sleep in any woman’s bed because they might get clingy.” Kyle had said it so confidently.

  I went to get up. I didn’t need Josh having to explain himself. But his hand on my shoulder, pushing me back down. He wasn’t letting me go anywhere.

  “Yeah, her bed because she loves her electric blanket. And I didn’t have one.” Josh’s kept control over his voice, but not well enough; you could hear the tint of anger. “But I fixed that today, little brother, so don’t you worry about it.”

  I frowned and looked up for once this evening. “What do you mean you fixed that today?”

  Josh was so busy having a glare off with Kyle, he didn’t answer straight away. Then finally their glare broke. Josh’s eyes landed on mine, and the anger that was in them slowly disappeared.

  “I brought you an electric blanket.”

  “But I already have one.”

  A smirk spread across his lips. “For my bed, sweetheart.” He leaned in, his mouth going to my ear. “My bed is bigger and so is my TV.” He said it softly but loud enough for everyone to hear. He wanted everyone to hear that. For some reason, he wanted to give the impression to everyone that we were sleeping together.

  I guess we had spent two nights together. He pulled back slowly, a carefree expression on his face, but I noted nerves as well. He was worried about my reaction. Was he thinking I would declare I would never sleep in his bed or something? Yeah, right now, reading his expression, he was worried about that.

  A small smile appeared on my face and I turned my body into him. “Bigger screen to watch The Young Ones on. And a bigger bed. You’re just better when it comes to everything, aren’t you?”

  “It’s on tonight, right?” he asked, acting like our conversation wasn’t being listened to by everyone. For some reason that made my small smile get bigger.

  “It is, but you watched it last night. I’m going to force you to watch it two nights in a row.” I conti
nued or charade of being the only ones at the table.

  Josh smirked and he turned in completely to face me, his hand going to the side of my face, gently pushing my hair back over my shoulder. “What can I say, I’m a sucker for the comedy.” His words were soft and kind and had me by the heart.

  He was a really good friend. But he was proving to me he wasn’t just capable of being a friend, he was capable of being a great friend.

  I was getting lost in his vibrant blue eyes again. God, I was a sucker for his eyes. They weren’t just a bright blue, they had a hint of dark blue to them too when you looked closer. But it wasn’t just any type of dark blue; it was the type of dark blue the ocean turns when the moon is cast over it. Yeah, that type of dark blue.

  I was so lost in them, loving them, that I sighed frustrated when he broke our eye contact.

  “Have you eaten a thing?” His eyes were on my plate and then back on me. I could see the annoyance in his expression. “You’ve stabbed a potato, that’s it?”

  I rolled my eyes and looked back at my plate. Ok, everything was not untouched apart from the potato, which did look like it had been stabbed to death. Well, what did he expect? I had to take my frustration out on something listening to Kayla.

  I looked back at Josh. “Not hungry.”

  He arched his eyebrows. “Do you really want to say that to me?” There was a threat in his tone, a threat that he would call me out and make me list everything I’ve eaten today and if I did tell him the list, which was coming up blank. And I didn’t want to see his reaction.

  I swallowed sharply. “Um. It’s cold now.” I pushed the plate away from me, turning and giving him a full smile. “I only liked the potato anyway.”

  His eyes widened, “Really, so you love potatoes?"

  “To death. Pity there was only one.” And just like that I dodged the whole ‘no eating’ thing.

  Josh pushed himself away from the table slightly. I looked back at him, was he leaving? Well I guess he had made one heck of an appearance. My eyes were still on him when he looked back at me. Why was he looking at me like that?