Famous by Association

by Leddy Harper

  While waiting for my lives to replenish, I made a bold decision.

  Some might say it was cheating, but I wouldn’t call it that. I considered it a true test of his ability to play. Sure, it involved some…nontraditional tactics, but I wasn’t afraid of a little dirty work if it got the job done. Even though it went against my typical behavior, by the time I realized it, it was too late. I’d gone too far and was unable to stop myself.

  It started out with just a little light petting. A simple stroke down his arm, a light caress of my fingertips along the top of his thigh. Then his breathing grew labored, so I leaned closer. I brought my lips close enough to his ear so that he could feel my soft exhale.

  At this point, I was still very much in control of things.

  Besides, this wasn’t my way of making a move. This was my way of winning a bet.

  Jacoby continued to play the game, trying his best to ignore my advances. Although, I could tell I was gaining traction based on how hard he was now pressing the buttons on the controller. His arms jerked wildly without rhythm, which helped prove that I was beginning to get to him. So I stuck out my tongue just enough to trace the curve of his ear, and at the sound of his frustrated groan—either sexually or because of the game, it was hard to tell—I pulled his earlobe between my lips.

  That’s when everything changed.

  His arms went limp, and I no longer heard the harsh clacking of the buttons on the controller. Either my heart had begun to pound so heavily that I couldn’t hear anything else, or he’d relented. All it would take was a quick glance at the TV screen to figure out where things stood, but there was something about his scent that kept me focused on what was in front of me.

  I was no longer in control of my actions.

  Actually, I probably hadn’t been this entire time, if I were being honest.

  Still, Jacoby didn’t move. He didn’t pull me into him, didn’t reach out to touch me. He didn’t even lean toward me. Instead, he remained motionless while I struggled with an internal war between humping his leg and sitting back in my seat. There didn’t seem to be anything in between the two. It was either all or nothing. This was likely why I’d gone from carefully stroking the top of his leg to heavily groping his inner thigh, mere inches from the hardness that strained against his pants. And his earlobe that had been lightly captured between my lips was now pinched between my teeth.

  Many women have used the phrase, I’ve never done anything like this. And I’d say roughly two percent were telling the truth—that’s a generous assumption. But when I say I’d never done anything like this, I wasn’t lying.

  Never in my life had I ever physically come onto a man in that manner. Flirted, sure. Teasingly touched a man’s forearm, of course. Exaggerated the sway of my hips while walking in front of a hot guy…maybe once or twice. But practically molest him in a way that could get someone arrested? Never. Not even in the wild fantasy I’d had about the hot ginger who shopped in my store, which involved him, Tom Hardy dressed as a cop, and the hood of my car.

  A tiny voice in my head told me that I should calm down, maybe ease up a bit, at least with his earlobe. But that voice was quickly drowned out by the intermittent grunts that rumbled Jacoby’s chest with his every labored exhale. It was enough to prove that he was in just as much of a war with himself over his resolve.

  My goal was to make him lose, and based on the random sounds of a player dying that came from the game, one could ascertain that I had done so. He certainly wasn’t playing anymore, which meant his character was likely being killed over and over again. Yet I couldn’t stop what I was doing.

  What had started as a distraction had quickly become something so much more.

  “Tasha,” he practically whispered, his voice too hoarse to make actual sound. It proved his desperation, which sounded like it matched my own. Although, that was obvious by the erection that was now beneath my palm.

  Just hearing Jacoby say my name, not my sister’s, skyrocketed the steam factor. Hearing him say it with his voice laden with lust and want and need? I was a goner—no chance in Hades of turning back now. With my lips on his neck, I shifted our positions until I was on his lap, straddling his thighs.

  Things moved at warp-speed after that. His hands were on my hips, his fingertips digging into the meaty part of my bottom as he pulled me into him. My fingers were laced behind his head, threaded through his short hair. And our tongues were fighting for control, warring between which mouth to occupy. All the while, our bodies moved as though we were having intercourse through our clothes.

  Between my lack of sexual attention of any kind, the roughness of his grip on me, and the friction between my legs every time I rolled my hips into him, I was seconds away from an orgasm. It didn’t start slow. No, it came on hot and fast, the need to get off driving me to move wilder, breath heavier, and pull his hair harder. But just as the start of the wave began to overtake me, the startling sound of the front door closing washed it away.

  Jacoby and I both stopped suddenly and stared wide-eyed at one another, as if that would somehow explain who’d just walked into the house. My heart was about to beat out of my chest, which was likely a combination of our activities and the unexpected arrival of whoever had just walked in.

  “Tasha!” Ty’s voice came from the front of the house, though the resounding footsteps echoing through the hall informed me that he wasn’t stationary. He was heading toward the living room. Which meant he was seconds away from finding me dry humping the neighbor, who was supposed to be under the impression that I was my sister, who was very much engaged to someone else.

  I quickly pushed off his lap and stepped away, doing my best to steady myself on such weak legs while giving Jacoby enough room to get off the couch. Neither of us knew what to do. Opening the door to go outside would be noisy, and there was nowhere for Jacoby to run that didn’t involve passing Ty in the main hallway other than the kitchen. So he started to head that way, but at the last second, he stopped and ducked next to the couch, just out of view.

  It turned out to be a smart move, because a split second later, Ty entered the room. There was no way Jacoby would’ve made it to the kitchen in time. And once I had a moment to think about it, the kitchen would’ve been the worst place to go—in the event Ty went to the fridge, there would be no escape for Jacoby, and we’d surely be found out.

  “W-what’s going on?” I tried my best to act and sound unfazed by his impromptu visit, which was pointless because I could tell without a mirror that I looked guilty of something.

  Ty’s brows knitted together as he scanned the room. “I tried calling, but you weren’t answering. So I decided I’d come over to make sure everything’s all right.”

  “Yeah, it’s all good. I was just, um…playing video games.” It was at that point that I turned my attention to the TV, noting the screen. And what I saw left me with majorly conflicting feelings: Jacoby wasn’t losing, I was. He’d pressed pause on his side, which meant the character that continuously died was mine. I’d basically assaulted the guy for no reason.

  Well, it wasn’t for no reason.

  “I see that.” Ty started to come closer, so to keep him from spotting Jacoby crouched in the corner of the room next to the sofa, I quickly stepped toward him. Within seconds, I closed the gap between us and turned him on his heels, putting his back to Jacoby. Just as I thought I’d gotten away with the sly maneuver, he hitched his thumb over his shoulder and asked, “Who was here?”

  “Huh?” Playing dumb never worked out well for me. “What do you mean?”

  “There are two plates, two glasses, two cans of beer.” He couldn’t have taken more than a quick glance at the coffee table when he walked in, yet he was able to recall everything on it without turning to point it all out. He must’ve had a photographic memory or something.

  “Oh, that…yeah, it was just me.”

  “Why would you need two of everything?”

  “I don’t need two of everything;
it just worked out that way. You see…what had happened was…” A rehearsed lie was so much easier than coming up with one on the spot. “After I ate, I went back to the kitchen for more, but I forgot to bring my plate with me. So instead of coming back to get it, I just grabbed another.”

  “And you needed another glass, too?”

  All I could do was nod. He either believed me, or he didn’t; nothing else I had to say would change his mind. If anything, it would simply dig my hole even deeper. And considering the fact that I had a person hiding out in the living room, the extra plate and cup were the least of my concerns.

  Thanks to the ten days he spent with me, Ty was well aware of my housekeeping skills—or lack thereof. That worked in my favor this time. He just shrugged and rolled his eyes, which left me feeling slightly offended. I mean, I may not have always picked up after myself right away, but I wasn’t lazy enough to dirty another plate just because I didn’t want to go back in the other room to get my own. What kind of person did he think I was?

  “Whatever,” I said while waving him off, slightly annoyed. “What did you come all the way over here for? What’s so important that you couldn’t just text me and wait for a reply?”

  “I caught wind of what the girls had to say about you after your brunch today.”

  That worried me. “And…?”

  “If you want people to believe you, then you’ll need to be colder toward them. They didn’t have anything bad to say, which normally would be great, but considering you’re supposed to be Tiffany, it’s enough to sound alarm bells for some. Even Jeannine thought you were acting strange. And since she’s the only one in the group who personally knows your sister, she’s the one we need to convince the most.”

  “You had to drive all the way over here to tell me that I was too nice?”

  “Yes, because you’ll be filming again tomorrow, and we need to go over this stuff.”

  I grabbed his wrist and tried to walk him toward the front door. “Sounds good. We can do this all over FaceTime. Call me as soon as you get home, and I’ll make sure to answer.”

  But he stopped halfway down the hall, refusing to go any further. “No, Tasha. I’m already here, so we might as well get it over with now. Based on what I’ve heard, it shouldn’t take long. There are just a few things that got overlooked last week.”

  I tried to get him to go to the kitchen, but he refused. He didn’t want to go upstairs, either. There were several other rooms downstairs, yet the more I suggested somewhere other than the living room, the more suspicious he became. So I had to give up and cross my fingers that he didn’t notice the large man I was hiding.

  To my surprise, when we settled into the couch, I noticed the French door slightly ajar. Somehow, Jacoby must’ve managed to escape in the handful of seconds I’d had Ty out of the room. While his absence helped me relax, no longer worried about the repercussions of Ty finding out that Jacoby knew the truth, it also made me sad. A large part of me had hoped that he’d still be here after Ty left.

  He’d gotten me all worked up for nothing.

  10

  Jacoby

  I had to admit that Tasha was a breath of fresh air, which was a nice surprise. I wasn’t used to women like her—in fact, I was pretty sure she was literally one of a kind. There couldn’t possibly be another woman like her in the world.

  She played video games, enjoyed lounging around in comfortable clothes, and she even drank beer. From a can. I found her to be funny, smart, and capable of holding a conversation without finding a way to bring up clothes, cars, her boobs, or money. Then again, I wouldn’t mind if her breasts somehow found their way into our conversation—and my hands.

  Tiffany Lewis was a model. Anyone with partial eyesight could see that she was an attractive woman on the surface, but that’s the extent of it. Tasha might’ve been her identical twin, but they were complete opposites in every way. Tasha was sunshine, whereas Tiffany was a storm cloud. Some people liked the rain, but I preferred a bright, warm day.

  “Are you even listening to me?” She giggled, her smile lighting up her eyes.

  I shook my head, clearing away the thoughts that kept me from paying attention to anything other than how amazing I thought she was. “Sorry, I was lost in thought. What did you say?”

  “You were staring right at me, yet you have no idea what I said.” Tasha rolled her eyes teasingly, though she never stopped stroking Sir Terry’s head. “Anyway, I asked… Why does he always lick me?”

  “Do you blame him? If I could, I’d lick you all day, every day.” That might’ve sounded like a joke, but I was not kidding. Ever since that brief encounter on her couch the other day, I hadn’t been able to think about anything else. The way she rode me, the rhythm of her hips as she rolled them into me, breathing heavily, her fingers tangled in the short hairs behind my head…I just knew she was on the verge of coming apart right in front of me.

  Ever since, I’d been obsessed with the need to see her get off on my tongue.

  “I’m being serious, Jacoby. Every time I hold him, he does nothing but lick me. I’ve never seen him do that to you when you hold him.” She sat in the porch swing with my bearded dragon in her lap while I cleaned up my sister’s flower beds.

  That was how I repaid Jessa for letting me stay in her pool house.

  “It just means he likes you.”

  “So he doesn’t like you?”

  “Beardies usually lick people to smell them. Since he always does it to you, it either means he smells something on you that he really likes, or he’s learning your scent because he feels comfortable with you. I’m leaning more toward the latter since he always seems quite content with you.”

  The corners of her lips slowly curled until a contagious smile lit up her face.

  Staring at her made the yard work take nineteen times longer than it should.

  “To be honest with you, I’ve never understood the appeal of having a reptile as a pet. Don’t get me wrong…I don’t dislike them or anything, but I guess I just don’t understand the enjoyment of having one. I get why people like dogs and cats.”

  “Cats? Really?” I gawked at her as if she’d just said the most ridiculous thing I’d ever heard. But rather than get into my laundry list of reasons why I disliked cats, I waved it off and responded to her actual question. “I can’t speak for all reptiles, but beardies are actually great pets. They are very loving, and unlike dogs, they require very little maintenance.”

  She continued to stroke Terry’s head while he sat there, sunbathing and soaking up the attention she gave him. I never thought I’d be jealous of a pet, yet here I was, envious of a freaking lizard.

  “Yeah, but what does he do other than lie around and eat?”

  I wasn’t surprised by her curiosity; most people were completely unaware of the awesome personalities of bearded dragons. They were just like any other pet—some were lazy and didn’t do much, and others were much livelier. Some were standoffish, while others were playful and fun. It all came down to how they were handled, and how much love they received.

  And Sir Terry Drago received a lot of love.

  He’d gotten me through a tough breakup.

  “Well, he enjoys going for walks around the yard, he likes to swim, and he loves to chase around a laser. As far as tricks are concerned, he comes to me when I call for him, climbs on me when I tell him to, and smiles and sits on command.”

  “Seriously?” Wide eyes, filled with awe, held my attention captive. “So you take him swimming in the pool and stuff? And when you walk him, do you put a leash on him?”

  Laughter rolled through me, and I had to go back to looking at what I was doing in the flowerbed. Otherwise, I would’ve been out here all night finishing this one task. “Chlorine is bad for them, so he has his own pool. And yes, he has a special harness that he wears for walks. He gets excited when I get it out, because he knows what that means.”

  It didn’t take long before her soft amusement called my atten
tion away from the weeds once more. I was so close to just giving up, knowing there was no way I’d be able to finish this task with her around. No matter how hard I tried not to look her way, one giggle was all it took to break my resolve.

  Thank the heavens that my sister chose that moment to join us outside, bringing with her two glasses of lemonade. “What’s so funny?”

  Tasha took the cold drink from Jessa with a smile. “I was just laughing at the thought of Jacoby walking Terry around the yard on a leash.”

  “Why is that funny?” I yanked off my soiled gloves and tossed them to the side, pretending not to be affected by the fact that my girl and my sister were both laughing at me. On one hand, it was a tiny bit insulting that they’d find that so amusing. But on the other hand, the natural way they were when they were around each other filled me with a happiness I’d never known.

  It wasn’t like Jessa and Tasha hung out. Ever since finding out about the Tiffany-Tasha switch up, they might’ve been around one another two or three times, but you’d never know by looking at them. Their body language resembled two people who’d known each other for years. It was both confusing and comforting, mainly because Jessa and Laurie, my ex, were never that close, and Laurie and I had been together for years. It wasn’t that Jessa disliked my ex; they’d simply never clicked the way she and Tasha seemed to.

  “Because,” Tasha started to explain with laughter carrying her words across the porch, “you’re this really big guy, and Terry might be a large lizard, but he’s a lizard, nonetheless. The visual in my head is just…entertaining, to say the least.”