by Claire Raye
Complicate Me
A Hawthorn Hills Duet
Reid and Sienna Book One
Claire Raye
Copyright © 2020 by Claire Raye
www.claireraye.com
Complicate Me
Reid & Sienna #1
Cover Photograph by Sara Eirew Photographer
Cover Design by Amy Queau of QDesign
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission from the author. Please do not participate in or encourage the piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. All characters and storylines are the property of the author and your support and respect is appreciated. The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
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Prologue
Two Years Ago
Reid
Chapter One
Present Day
Sienna
Chapter Two
Reid
Chapter Three
Sienna
Chapter Four
Reid
Chapter Five
Sienna
Chapter Six
Reid
Chapter Seven
Sienna
Chapter Eight
Reid
Chapter Nine
Sienna
Chapter Ten
Reid
Chapter Eleven
Sienna
Chapter Twelve
Reid
Chapter Thirteen
Sienna
Chapter Fourteen
Reid
Chapter Fifteen
Sienna
Chapter Sixteen
Reid
Chapter Seventeen
Sienna
Chapter Eighteen
Reid
Chapter Nineteen
Sienna
Chapter Twenty
Reid
Chapter Twenty-One
Sienna
Chapter Twenty-Two
Reid
Chapter Twenty-Three
Sienna
Chapter Twenty-Four
Reid
Chapter Twenty-Five
Sienna
Chapter Twenty-Six
Reid
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Sienna
What’s Next
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Books by Claire Raye
About the Author
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Two Years Ago
Reid
Providence, Rhode Island
“Reid?!”
“Yeah. Out here,” I yell.
Caleb walks around the side of the house, hands in his pockets. “Hey,” he says, as he climbs the steps to the back deck.
“Hey,” I reply.
“So still pissed at me, huh?” he asks as he takes a seat in the deck chair beside me.
I give him a sideways glance. “Still not coming to Hawthorn?”
Caleb lets out a long exhale, his elbows resting on his knees as he sits forward in his chair. “You know I can’t,” he says.
“Why?” I ask, knowing it’s complete bullshit.
Caleb is just as good at football as me and I know they offered him the same deal I got, a full ride scholarship to Hawthorn. Difference is, he really needs it and I don’t. Well, that and I’m going and he’s not. Pisses me off.
“Come on, dude,” he says. “I gotta stay here and take care of things.”
I stretch my legs out in front of me, crossing my ankles as I kick off my sneakers. “You don’t have to do shit,” I tell him as I stare out at the backyard. “And you certainly don’t owe him shit either,” I add, knowing his dad is a drunk and a gambler who’s pissed away everything their family had, running their business into the ground in the process. It’s not up to Caleb to try and save things.
“You know I can’t,” he says again, a harshness to his tone now because I know deep down, he doesn’t want to stay either. It’s just what he thinks he should do. For some reason he feels he owes it to his dad or his family legacy or whatever. But I don’t buy it and I don’t think Caleb really does either.
“We were supposed to do this together, Caleb,” I remind him. “You, me and Sienna. The three of us, getting out of this shithole. Going away to school. Together,” I remind him.
It was always something we’d planned, a pact we’d first made back when we were thirteen. None of us wanted to stay here, and we were all looking for an escape, from this place, from our families, from everything.
“You should be coming with us,” I say again, my voice low. “And I’m not the only one who thinks that.”
Caleb lets out another deep breath because he knows exactly who I’m talking about. But she hasn’t been able to change his mind either. Neither of us have. This is an argument we’ve had on an almost daily basis since the three of us got our letters of acceptance and then Caleb decided to ruin everything by not enrolling.
I was so fucking mad at him when I found out, knowing he’d deliberately done it right on the deadline, so we were already committed, but he’d missed out. But it didn’t matter how many times I tried to reason with him. Every day he and I had this argument, it always ended the same way: Caleb digging his heels in and me pissed off. I was running out of time to try and convince him to change his mind.
“Yeah, so speaking of her,” he says, effectively ending the conversation about him coming out to California. “I need to ask you a favor.”
“A favor?” I repeat, confused.
“Yeah,” he says, sitting back in his chair as he turns to face me. “A favor.”
“Sure,” I say smirking. “I’ll do you a favor if you come to Hawthorn.”
Caleb rolls his eyes but doesn’t take the bait, instead saying, “I need you to take care of Sienna for me.”
Fuck me.
Sienna, Caleb’s twin sister, and the third person in this pact who is also going to Hawthorn and is just as pissed about the fact her brother isn’t. She’s also the girl I’ve had a huge fucking crush on for as long as I can remember. A crush her brother knows absolutely nothing about. Hell, even she doesn’t know because I know she is totally off-limits.
“What?” I ask, shoving a rough hand through my hair as I try to process his words.
“I need you to look out for her,” he repeats. “Keep an eye on her, make sure she’s safe, doesn’t do anything stupid. Stays away from asshole guys like us.”
“Caleb, fuck, man,” I say, as I stand and walk inside the house. I'm hot and sweaty after my run, my clothes sticking to my skin and I really need a shower. Caleb follows, trailing behind as I turn and add, “I’m not a babysitter.”
I head into the kitchen, opening the fridge and searching for something to drink. I reach for a
beer, even though it’s only two in the afternoon, handing one to Caleb too.
He takes his, his brow cocked. “This cool?” he asks.
I shrug, knowing no one here is gonna give a shit. “No one else is home,” I say.
“Where’s your mom?” he asks, not bothering to ask about my dad, who’s never home.
“I dunno, shopping,” I reply, even though I have no clue.
“Anyway,” Caleb continues, taking a swig of beer. “Sienna, can you look out for her, check in on her once in a while?”
I exhale, emptying half my bottle in one long pull. “What exactly does once in a while mean?”
Caleb holds out his arms. “I dunno, everyday?”
“Fuck, Caleb,” I groan, finishing my beer. “You know you could do this yourself if you just pulled your head out of your ass and came with me.”
“Come on, Reid,” he pleads. “I need you to protect her,” he says, ignoring my last comment. “Make sure no guy fucks with her or hurts her. Please,” he adds, and I know he’s not dropping this until I agree. “You’re the only person I can trust.”
Given he’s now decided not to go, it’s actually amazing he’s letting Sienna go at all, considering how protective he is of her. But I also know that he knows this is her ticket out of here and away from their dad. This will be something good for Sienna because it will give her the future he knows he can never have.
“Ugh, fine,” I say, knowing I really have no choice in this. And honestly, she is my friend too, so I should want to do it. Even if it is far more complicated than either of them realizes. “I’ll do it.”
Caleb smiles, clapping his hands together once. “Thanks man, seriously. I’ll owe you one.”
“Damn straight you will,” I mutter. “Although I’ll consider us even if you just come to Hawthorn.”
“Whatever,” he says, punching my arm. “Anyway, now we’ve got that figured out, you wanna hit the pool?” he asks, grinning. “End of summer, last chance to get some girls.”
I exhale, knowing as pissed as I am at Caleb, I am gonna miss hanging out with him when I head off to school in a couple of a weeks. “Sure,” I say, giving in. “Let me just take a shower though.”
“Yeah, you should,” he says, laughing. “You fucking stink.”
I flip him off as I walk out of the kitchen and head upstairs to my bedroom. Inside, I pull off my clothes, throwing them on the floor as I walk into the attached bathroom. As I step into the shower, Caleb’s request still ringing in my brain, I wonder how the hell I’m supposed to do what he’s asked me to do.
How am I supposed to look out for her when I try so damn hard not to look at her?
How do I check in on her when I’ve spent my life trying to resist her, trying to hide how much I want her?
And how the hell do I protect her from guys looking to get in her pants, when I’m one of those guys?
“Shit,” I mutter as I step under the running water. Caleb will fucking kill me if he ever figures out I have a crush on his sister.
Chapter One
Present Day
Sienna
Hawthorn Hills, California
“Chug! Chug! Chug!” I hear before we even step through the door. The smell of stale beer and sweat is wafting from the open windows and I practically gag, rolling my eyes and wondering what the hell I’m even doing here.
Looking over her shoulder at me, Ruby widens her eyes but doesn’t say anything as she reaches to push open the front door of the dilapidated house that’s presenting itself in front of us. It’s disgusting and I have no idea why I would even consider walking in here in the first place.
“I’m pretty sure you’re going to get chlamydia from touching that door so make sure you wash your hands,” I spit out, a shudder of disgust rolling up my spine.
“Come on. You’re being so dramatic. All house parties are like this,” Ruby replies, and now it’s her rolling her eyes. “You’d know this if you ever left the house.”
“I prefer the bar,” I shoot back. “It’s a controlled environment. This is like date rape central.” I have to shout over the sound of the pumping base and alpha males pounding their chests.
“The bar is expensive and here we can drink for free,” she yells back and unfortunately, I can’t argue with the validity of her response. My student loans are piling up as we speak and what little money I do have is usually spent on food and cheap booze. Gordon’s vodka, anyone?
The music is loud, the base thumping so hard I can feel it in my chest as Ruby and I maneuver through the crowd of people to the back of the house. It’s a warm night and the house is stifling, the smell of sweaty bodies permeating the air. I need to get a drink quick before this all starts to get to me. This party is as clichéd as a college party gets.
We reach the small mudroom at the back of the house, the doorway blocked by some hulking meathead with a few too many conflicting ideology tattoos and the smell of weed coming from his pores.
“Ten bucks a cup,” he grunts, holding out a hand and Ruby pushes up on her toes to get a good look at the keg on the other side of the doorway.
“Okay, no problem,” she says, shoving her hand into her shirt as she rummages through her bra looking for money she’s pretending she stashed there. She’s wearing a tiny white crop top and painted on black skinny jeans, and her dark brown hair shakes as she continues to search for the non-existent money.
“Ruby,” I whine, my voice unnaturally high and shrill. “My boobs are way too small to pull off this bralette.” I grab my B-cup boobs and push my bottom lip out a little. “No one is going to want to sleep with me and I was dead set on losing my virginity tonight.” I stomp my foot a little, my hip jutting out as I conjure up a few tears to pool in my eyes.
Turning to me, Ruby slides a finger under the spaghetti strap of the bralette I’m wearing as a top, moving her finger back and forth against my skin.
“No. Your boobs are perfect and perky and any guy would be lucky…” she trails off turning back to the bouncer meathead. “I’m sorry, I forgot what you said.” Her fake innocence pushing through as she twirls a lock of my hair around her finger; its blonde color almost a perfect match against her flawless pale skin. She steps closer to him, her other hand resting on his bare chest as I slide my hand over her hip. Meathead’s eyes immediately shoot to where I’m touching Ruby and when he looks back up, I wet my lips, my tongue poking out just slightly as I make eye contact with him.
“Um, yeah,” he stutters out, but never finishes his thought. He just reaches behind him, handing Ruby two blue plastic cups and she in turn extends them back to me as she pushes up and pecks the meathead on the cheek.
“God, you’re good,” she groans, slapping me on the ass while I step through the doorway.
“Nah. I’m only as good as my partner in crime.” I shrug my shoulders and give her a wink.
The little mudroom is crowded with people and the worn-out linoleum floor is sticky under my feet, making me cringe a little as I peel my shoes off it. I begin to pump the keg, tipping the cup to the side as I fill Ruby’s first and then mine.
“You need some help there?” a deep voice from behind me asks and again I’m rolling my eyes. I get it this is college and boys hit on girls, but I wish they’d be a little more creative. Not every girl who walks in here is some insipid twit who needs saving. I’ve been filling cups from a keg since before I could ride a bike.
“Why? So you can roofie my beer?” I bite back. Ruby laughs out loud, a hand covering her mouth when she realizes it was louder than necessary and I smirk at her.
“He’s cute though,” Ruby whispers, her mouth so close to my ear it can only be perceived as something sexual. She bumps me with her tiny hip making my ass sway, which I’m sure is giving this guy an eyeful.
Slightly curious, I hand Ruby her beer and turn around to get a good look at him, and I’ll be damned if she isn’t right. His face holds an amused expression w
ith a slight smile that teeters on the edge of exposing his what I imagine are perfectly straight teeth. He’s tall and lean, but still muscular and he looks like he doesn’t fit in with this crowd of football players and overly beefed up guys.
“I like a girl with a snarky attitude,” he says, a flirting quality to his voice and his posture, as he steps closer to me.
“Funny, because I like a guy who actually has a shirt on,” I quip back and when Ruby obviously sees I have things under control here, she gives my hand a squeeze and I repeat the gesture as she slips out the door to find someone to flirt with, too.
“Shirtless dudes are a dime a dozen around here,” he jokes, his eyes wandering to the large expanse that is the main room of the house. He tilts his head and I follow him out of the cramped space, finding a spot off to the side.
The music is still pumping and it makes it hard to hear him, but he clears his throat and I catch the ending of his question.
“My name?” I ask, verifying that’s what he asked, and he leans in, resting his arm on the wall above my head.
Nodding his head, a simple smile on his face as he watches me with his dark eyes and for a split second something passes between us, something that feels more natural than just a chance meeting at a keg party.
“Sienna,” I tell him, my mouth now next to his ear, practically touching it and when I pull back and wet my lips, I taste the salt of his skin.
“I’m Justin,” he returns, tucking my hair behind my ear. “So tell me, Sienna, what are you doing here tonight?”
I purse my lips, as I slide my leg between his just a little. “Honestly, Justin, I’m just here to get drunk off free beer.”
“Free beer? I thought there was a cup fee?” he questions, titling his head to the side.
“For you there was a cup fee, but for me and my perky little boobs there was not.”
His head falls back and he lets out a low laugh. I guess the guys don’t realize most of us dress the way we do for our own benefit. It has nothing to do with impressing them and everything to do with using our bodies to get what we want. Ruby and I have been perfecting our act since freshman year. The tops have gotten smaller and the shorts shorter, but my damn boobs have stayed the same size.