by E. L. Todd
“I’m just…not.”
“Well, I appreciate your honesty. It makes me hotter for you.”
Seriously? It was that easy?
“Show me your place.”
Could I really do this? Have a one-night stand with some girl I just met? I couldn’t remember the last time I had sex. It was something I missed in a carnal way. But she was okay with it meaning nothing and I guess I was too. Every time I thought about Skye sleeping with Zack, it made me sick. Maybe this would make me feel better. Make me forget her. I’d do anything to see her as just a friend, someone that blended in with the crowd. I would do anything not to recognize her smell a mile away. Her freckle always caught my attention, and my eyes always took in the beautiful color of her eyes. She was my muse, a work of art I loved to stare at. I wished she meant nothing to me. Because I would never mean anything to her. I took a deep breath before I answered. “Okay.”
Slade hunted me down on campus the next morning. “So…how was your night?”
“Fine.” I kept walking down the hall, being vague.
“Fine? Asshole, it better have been more than fine. You better have fucked her brains out ten ways to Sunday.”
A group of girls passed us, their eyebrows raised.
“Keep your voice down,” I hissed.
“Who cares? So, did you?”
I stopped in the hallway then faced him. “I’m not one to kiss and tell.”
He smirked. “You dog.” He hit me in the shoulder. “Was she good?”
“Yeah. She was great.” I shrugged. All a girl had to do to be good was be hot. And Jasmine definitely had that down.
Slade clapped. “About time. Are you gonna see her again?”
“No…I don’t think so.”
“You’re just never going to call her?”
“Well, I told her from the beginning I didn’t want a relationship.”
“And she still went through with it?” he asked incredulously.
“Yeah.”
“Whoa…you have better game than I give you credit for.”
“I’ve always had game,” I argued.
He rolled his eyes. “I haven’t seen it in so long I can’t recall. So, does that mean you really moving on?”
“I’ve been moving on. I just haven’t made any progress until now.”
“Well, progress is progress.”
“Why is my personal life so interesting to everyone? When was the last time you got laid?”
“Last night, actually.”
“With who?” I asked. “You didn’t leave with anyone.”
“Just because I didn’t pick up anyone doesn’t mean I didn’t find someone elsewhere.”
“Like, where?”
“It was a booty call.”
“I thought you didn’t do back-to-backs?”
He shrugged. “She’s good in the sack so I made an exception.”
I thought it was odd Slade didn’t mention her before. He told me everything.
“Well, I got to run. I’m a busy man with women to please.”
“When you say it like that, you sound like a prostitute.”
“Maybe I am.” He winked and headed down the hall.
I went to class, doing my best to forget about Skye forever.
Chapter Four
Skye
When I came home from class, there was a bouquet of roses on my doorstep.
“Looks like someone is cheating or apologizing.” Silke looked down at the flowers with her arms across her chest.
“Since it’s Zack, I’m going with apologizing,” Trinity said.
“Did you guys have a falling out?” Silke asked. She tucked a strand of blonde hair behind one ear as we walked into my apartment. Even though she and Slade were twins, I didn’t see the resemblance. She looked just like her mom and Slade looked like his dad.
“He just…pissed me off.” That was the short version of it.
Trinity helped herself to a glass of wine. “Meaning…?”
I sighed. “He thinks Cayson has a thing for me, which is totally ridiculous.”
Trinity shared a glance with Silke then smirked.
“What?” I asked. Was I missing something?
“Nothing,” Silke said. “We’ve just told you the same thing for years and you never believe us.”
I was sick of hearing this. “Cayson isn’t into me.”
“Why do we bother?” Trinity asked. “You’re in denial or you really are as dumb as your brother claims.”
“I’m not in denial. I know my best friend better than you do,” I said.
“Forget it.” Trinity waved her hand. “What were you saying?”
“Zack asked me not to see him anymore. Obviously, I told him to go to hell and get the hell out of my store. The fight just kept building until I broke up with him.”
“You broke up with him?” Trinity asked incredulously. “So, you’re done for good?”
“No…we didn’t really break up.” I felt ashamed to admit it. “I know he’s obnoxious sometimes but he can be really sweet when it’s just us so I figured I’d give him another chance.”
“That’s too damn bad,” Silke said. “If he wants a woman he can boss around, then he needs to find someone else.”
“I hope we don’t have anymore problems,” I said with a sigh. “Otherwise my head might explode.”
“Or you could just dump him,” Trinity said. “Skye, you’re smoking hot. You could get any guy you want.”
I rolled my eyes. I never heard anything more untrue in my life. “The only hot things about me are these damn tits. Other than that, I got nothing.”
Trinity rolled her eyes. “Not true, but whatever.”
“And I like Zack.” For the most part.
“But do you love him?” Silke asked. “You guys have been together for months. Shouldn’t that have been said by now?”
“A few months?” That was way too soon. “No. I like to take things slow. It’s way too soon for that.”
“You’re already sleeping with him,” Trinity pointed out.
I shrugged. “Well, I have needs. If I were a guy, this wouldn’t be an issue.”
“Good point,” Silke said.
I put the flowers in a vase with water then left them on the counter. “Anyway, enough with my dull life. Should we have a Halloween party this year?”
“Duh,” Trinity said. “Is that a serious question?”
“I’m in,” Silke said. “And I know exactly what I’m going to be.”
“Let me guess,” Trinity said sarcastically. “A slutty bunny?”
“No,” Silke snapped. “Something much more creative.”
“A slutty nurse?” Trinity asked.
“No.” Silke stomped her foot. “It has nothing to do with being slutty.”
“That’s boring,” Trinity said. “What are you going to be, Skye?”
“I don’t know…” I rubbed my palms together. “I haven’t thought about it much.”
“Oooh. We should have a prize for the best costume.” Trinity clapped her hands. “That would be so much fun.”
“I’m soo going to win that,” Silke said.
“We’ll see about that,” Trinity challenged.
“Should we get everything this weekend?” Silke asked.
“I can’t,” I said. “I have a conference this weekend in Washington DC.”
“A conference?” Trinity asked. “For what?”
“I’m giving a speech about small markets and inflation,” I said.
Silke rolled her eyes. “Geek.”
“Are you going alone?” Trinity asked.
“Yeah.” I hadn’t traveled alone often but I wasn’t worried about it. I could figure it out.
“Like, totally alone?” Trinity asked.
Yes, Dad. “I can handle it.”
“I know that.” She waved her hand. “It’s just that DC is one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Be careful.”
“I’m always careful,” I said.<
br />
“Can you take someone?” Silke asked. “I wish I could go but I can’t. What about you, Trinity?”
“No, I can’t go either. I didn’t do my homework all week now I have to cram on the weekend.”
Shocking.
“Maybe one of the guys could go?” Silke asked.
“No,” I said. “I’ll be fine—really.”
“Does Uncle Sean know about this?” Trinity asked.
“No. But I wouldn’t be surprised if he found out. That man knows what I’m doing every second of the day. It’s damn annoying.”
“Every second…?” Trinity cringed. “I sincerely hope not.”
“You catch my meaning,” I said. “Uncle Mike is the same way.”
“He’s protective but…stalkerish? No, I wouldn’t say that,” Trinity said.
“He doesn’t stalk me,” I said immediately. “He just knows about all my school functions even though I never mention it. Last semester, I got all A’s, and he called me to congratulate me before grades were even posted.”
“Probably because he paid the professors to give you good grades,” Silke said with a laugh.
I glared at her. “My dad would never do that.”
Trinity shrugged. “Honestly, I wouldn’t put it past him.”
“I earn my grades by my own merit, not with money.” I refused to live any other way.
“Miss Perfect is starting to get pissy,” Trinity said. “Time to change the subject.”
Cayson walked through the door holding pizza boxes. “Delivery boy is here.”
“And you’re late,” Trinity said. “Don’t expect a tip.”
“Well, I paid for these pizzas so don’t expect to eat,” he countered.
“I take that back,” she said quickly. She opened the lid and took a sniff. “Heavenly…”
Cayson raised an eyebrow then looked at me. “How’s it going?”
“Good. You?” I always felt comfortable around Cayson in a way I never felt with the others. I was closer to him than my own brother.
“Good.” He nodded his head slowly.
Trinity shoved some pizza into her mouth. “Why don’t you take Cayson with you?”
“No, it’s okay,” I said immediately. “I’ll be fine alone.”
“Take me where?” he asked.
“I have a conference in Washington DC this weekend and the girls don’t want me to go alone,” I explained.
“I’ll go,” he said immediately. “I don’t have plans.”
“You don’t have to study?” I asked incredulously.
“No,” he blurted.
“No…I’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it.” I really didn’t need anyone to come with me.
“I really don’t mind,” he insisted. “It’ll be fun. I’ve never been to DC.”
“I don’t want to ruin your whole weekend or anything…”
“You aren’t.” He gave me that serious look he did the other day. “It’ll be fun.”
If I had to pick someone to take, it would probably be Cayson anyway. He was my best friend. “Okay.”
He cleared his throat. “Zack can’t go…?”
“He can’t miss football.” I rolled my eyes.
Cayson spotted the flowers on the counter but didn’t mention them. “We leave Friday?”
“Yeah. I’ll book the tickets.”
“Cool. And I’ll call the hotel and make sure I can get my own room.”
“Good idea.”
I jotted down the name of the hotel and handed it to him. He pulled out his phone and walked outside, to make the call.
“Cayson is such a sweet guy,” Silke said with a sigh.
“He really is.” Trinity pulled another slice out and scarfed it down.
I couldn’t agree more. He’d always been there for me since we were little. I couldn’t recall a time he wasn’t.
“Zack is going to be so mad when he finds out you’re going with Cayson.” Silke shook her head. “It’s going to be World War III and he’s going to have to get you some bigger flowers.”
I got a headache just thinking about it. Zack’s jealousy drove me crazy, especially when there was nothing to be jealous about.
***
“Is this a fucking joke?” Zack’s eyes were wide and his jaw was tense.
I crossed my arms over my chest, not backing down. “No. Like I said, Cayson and I are family. I’ve known him since I was born. If he had feelings for me, he’s had twenty-one years to act on them.”
“This is unacceptable! How would you feel if I went away for the weekend with a friend?”
“If she was a family friend, I wouldn’t care. And we aren’t going away for the weekend. It’s a business conference.”
“And that geek is majoring in science.”
I narrowed my eyes at him. “Call him that again and I’ll kick you in the nuts.”
He gritted his teeth. “You treat him like he’s a god.”
“I treat all my family like that. I made it clear what they mean to me.”
Fury burned in his eyes while he clenched his fists. He moved his hand through his hair, the muscles of his forearm tense. “I’ll go with you instead. Now he doesn’t need to tag along.”
“I already asked you and you said you didn’t want to go.”
“I’d rather go than have lover boy get cozy with you.”
“I told you not to call him names. Ever.”
He growled then slammed his fist into his chest. “I’m going.”
“No.” I stepped closer to him, not intimidated. “I asked you to be there for me and you said no. You don’t get to change your mind just because someone else actually cares about what I’m passionate about. That’s not how it works. You missed your chance.”
“And all your girlfriends weren’t available? Your blood relatives? Your damn brother?”
“No, they weren’t.”
“I thought you could handle going by yourself.”
“You would prefer if I traveled alone?” I glared at him. “That’s how threatened you are by Cayson?”
“I’m not threatened by him,” he snapped.
I laughed. “It sure seems like it.”
He growled again then opened his mouth to speak. I cut him off before he could get anything out.
“This conversation is over. I’ll see you when I get back.”
“I don’t think—”
“This discussion is over. If it really bothers you that I spend time with Cayson, then you should just end this relationship. I’m never going to change the way I act with him. So this is an ultimatum; accept my relationship with him or walk away.” I watched his face, seeing the darkness in his eyes. I admit it was a little wrong to spend the weekend with a guy I wasn’t related to, but if he trusted me, it wouldn’t be an issue. I couldn’t continue to have this fight over and over again. He had the right to walk away if it really bothered him that much. “What’s it going to be?”
He sighed, bottling his anger. “You know what my answer is.”
I waited for him to say it. “Yeah?”
“If you think I’m just going to walk away, you’re mistaken.”
“Then I don’t want to fight about this anymore.”
“Fine.” He clenched his jaw. “Breaking up isn’t an option.”
I raised an eyebrow. That was an extremely serious thing to say. “We aren’t married…couples break up all the time. If you’re unhappy, then don’t settle for me.”
“It’s not settling,” he said immediately. “It’s the opposite.”
I loosened up a little. “So, can we put this behind us?”
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. “Have a good trip.”
“I will.”
“And be safe.” He put his arms around my waist and kissed me.
I massaged his lips with mine.
Cayson cleared his throat.
I immediately broke the kiss, not realizing he was standing there.
Cayson didn’t look directly at us. His eyes scanned the ground and the walls of the apartment. “Ready to go?”
“Yeah.” I stepped inside and reached for my suitcase.
“I got it,” Cayson said immediately. He grabbed everything and carried it to the car.
Zack watched him like a hawk. His eyes smoldered but he didn’t say anything.
Cayson came back. “We should go. We’re late as it is.”
“Yeah.” I turned to Zack. “I’ll see you when I get back.”
“Yeah.” He turned to Cayson. “Take care of her.”
“I will.” Cayson straightened his shoulders while he stared at him.
Zack looked like he wanted to rip his throat out. But he didn’t. “Bye.” He walked away, heading to his car.
“Sorry about that,” I said.
“No need to apologize.” Cayson didn’t look at me.
***
After we were in the air, I finally relaxed. Flying wasn’t my favorite form of travel but I hid my unease. It was an irrational fear and something I shouldn’t be concerned about.
Cayson crossed his ankle at his knee. “Thousands of planes, big and small, take off and land every day. The odds of anything bad happening to you are so low that you’re more likely to get hit by lightning and win the lottery on the same day. It’ll be alright.”
Did I make it that obvious? Or did he just know me that well? “Yeah, you’re right. I shouldn’t be scared.”
“It’s okay. A lot of people are.”
“Are you?”
“No.” He looked out the window and stared at the clouds.
I settled into my seat and got comfortable. “Thanks for coming with me.”
“Sure. I don’t mind. But Zack didn’t seem too happy…” Cayson never talked about Zack. I couldn’t even recall a time when Cayson said his name out loud.
“He’s…complicated.”
“I hope I’m not causing any strain.”
“You aren’t,” I said immediately.
He rested his hand on his thigh and the other on his armrest. The TV in front of the cabin was on and Ben Affleck’s face was on the screen. I watched it for a moment before I grew bored. I needed to go over my presentation again but I practiced so many times my head was going to explode.
Cayson looked at me. “Can I ask you something?”
“You can ask me anything, Cay” I assumed there were no secrets between us by now.