“I wish,” she groans. “It was awful. He wanted to show me some of his work, right there in the fucking restaurant.”
“Oh no,” I murmur.
She nods her head with a horrified look on her face. “That’s right. I spent my night watching a girl get screwed by two massive black guys. Did you know there was such thing as double anal? Because I tell you. I had no fucking idea.”
“Double anal? I question. “As in…?”
“Yeah. Like double. As in at the same time. Two willies in the poor girl’s butt.”
“But… how?” I ask equally as horrified as Rylee continues to chuckle by the counter.
“Trust me,” Izzy calls from within her dressing room. “It’s possible.”
“What?” I shriek as I throw back the curtain of her stall and gape at her, but luckily, she’s already dressed in a gorgeous dress, that if I wasn’t so horrified I’d be busy telling her to buy. “You haven’t? Tell me you haven’t.”
“Oh, god. No,” she gasps before giving me a proud look. “But I’ve seen it.”
“Ugh,” I groan. “I don’t want to know.”
“No, you don’t,” Cami laughs. “It looked painful.”
“I bet,” I murmur.
“At least Jace will be thrilled to know that I won’t be seeing him again,” Cami comments as she heads over towards her rack of shoes and picks me out a pair of heels that would work magically with the dress. “God, I’m so angry at him,” she says. “I would do anything to go down there and kick his ass right now.”
“Well,” Rylee cuts in. “I’m not busy right now. We could go down there to kick some ass. Besides, Cole forgot his house keys. I have to go down there anyway.”
“I’m in,” I announce with a raised hand.
“Count me in too,” Izzy says.
“You guys aren’t serious?” she questions. “We’re all just going to go down there and give Jace a piece of our minds?”
“Sounds about right to me,” I say as Rylee gives her a nod.
“Besides,” Izzy adds. “Do you have any idea how hot all the fighters are down there? It’s like a steamy sausage fest.”
A brilliant smile comes across Cami’s face and just like that, she’s giving her shop assistance instructions on what she wants done for the day and we’re all piling into our cars.
We pull up at Rebel’s Advocate and stand out the front looking like the biggest bunch of badasses. Well, that is until Cami starts to look sick at the tasks she’s about to do. “Don’t you dare back out,” Rylee warns her. “He needs to hear it.”
“I know,” she groans before taking a big breath and storming forward.
We follow behind and make our way into Rebels Advocate. The first thing we notice is all three of the boys are in the middle of training clients. “Damn,” Rylee grunts. “We didn’t quite think this through.”
Cole notices us from across the room and gives us a curious look before focusing back on the kid in front of him. “Come on,” I say. “We can wait in the studio.”
We pile into the studio and I flop down on one of those big Pilates balls, I think it’s called a Swiss ball, but I could be wrong. I bounce up and down on it as Izzy heads over to the room length mirror and pulls out her hair before braiding it.
We sit in silence. My eyes are busy looking out into the gym watching Caden with his client. Rylee is looking at something on her phone and Cami is focused intently on the floor, probably going over what she plans on saying.
“You know,” Izzy says as she watches me through the mirror. “I saw this thing on YouTube where these two people would get those balls and run full steam ahead at each other. Last person standing wins.”
A gin rips across my face as I look around the room and find another Swiss ball by the door. “I’m keen if you are,” I tell her.
She grins back at me. “You’re on.”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Rylee says, stopping Izzy who’s already halfway across the room on a mission to get the other ball. We stop and stare at Rylee, waiting to know her issue. “I want to call it.”
“Ok,” I laugh as she points out positions for both me and Izzy to start.
Rylee holds her hands up to her face as though she’s holding a microphone. “In the left corner, please make welcome, all the way from her apartment, Imogen ‘The Deadly Ball Demon’ Lewis,” she announces as if we’re about to face down in the ring, the same way they do for the professional fights. I crack up as she continues. “In the other corner,” she says as Izzy holds her hands up for her non-existent audience. “She’s fast. She determined. She’s the best goddamn ball handler in America. “Izzy ‘The Ball Buster’ Vincent.”
Cami cheers for us and I’m sure the noise of our laughter is heard throughout the whole gym. Rylee points to me. “Ball Demon, are you ready?” I nod my head before she turns to Izzy. “Ball Buster, are you ready?” Izzy grins and nods.
“Alright,” Rylee says. “Get ready. Get set. RUN.”
I take off with a cringe, terrified I’m about to go flying back onto my ass, but Rylee put way too much dedication into her introduction that I can’t back out now. Izzy comes storming towards me and looks as though she’s about to wet her pants with laughter. We each hold the balls in front of our stomachs and I feel as though time has slowed.
We come crashing into one another and our balls slam together, slightly off center, causing us both to rebound backward. Izzy flies off behind Rylee while I go completely the opposite way. I crash to the ground with a rush of air escaping me, and if I wasn’t laughing so hard, I’d probably be worried about the bruise that will be coming out on my thigh later.
“What the fuck is going on in here?” Cole asks from the doorway with a very amused Caden standing beside him.
“I call it ‘Swiss Ball Roulette’,” Rylee announces with a laugh that has her practically doubled over.
Caden shakes his head and walks over to me. He offers me his hand and I happily take it. He hauls me to my feet before taking a step back away from me. “What are you guys doing here?” he asks the room.
“Well,” Izzy says as Cole helps her to her feet. She rubs her thigh as she continues. “Cami’s here to give Jace a piece of her mind.”
“Oh, shit,” Caden murmurs under his breath beside me.
With that, Jace comes storming into the studio with his eyes already firmly on Cami. “What are you doing here?” he questions, clearly still very annoyed by the whole ‘date’ thing last night. Though, if only he knew how much of a failure it was, he’d probably be in a fit of laughter rather than turning one hundred shades of green with jealousy.
She flies to her feet and practically runs to him with her face a complete mask of rage. “You,” she demands as she reaches him and slams her pointer finger into his chest. “How dare you pull that shit on me last night.”
“Me?” he yells as he takes her pointer finger and removes it from his chest. “You’re the one going out with random guys.”
“I have every right to go out with whoever the hell I want,” she yells at him. “It’s not like you’re going to date me.”
“No, I’m not,” he tells her.
“Then what’s your problem?” she says with fury as her face turns red with anger. “If you don’t want me then back off. Let me breathe. I’m not going to wait around for you forever. You need to make a decision, Jace. Either do something about it or let me go.”
He stands silently, letting her unleash her fury on him and we all stand around, watching the show. Jace’s breath comes hard and he clenches his jaw as he looks down at her, clearly very pissed off. Though, I’m not sure what’s pissing him off more. It could either be the way she’s yelling at him, or what she’s actually saying. I’m not sure, but I do know that he’s completely lost.
He continues staring for a moment, and then, with no warning, he reaches out and pulls her hard against him. Jace’s lips come crashing down on Cami’s and she gasps at the sudden intrusion, but it’s o
nly a second later before she’s completely melting. Her fingers twist into his shirt as his dig into her waist, both desperate with need.
A grin rips across nearly everyone’s faces.
“It’s about fucking time,” Caden murmurs.
I look up at him and scoff, “Right.”
Jace pulls back from Cami and rests his forehead against hers. They both stand for the slightest moment with their eyes closed, trying to catch their breaths. Jace briefly presses his lips to hers once again before pulling right back and cupping her face in his hands. She looks up at him and waits for whatever it is he needs to say. “Move on, Cami. I’m no good for you.”
Oh no.
With that, he releases her and steps back with an absolute longing in his eyes. He turns and leaves the room.
A gut-wrenching sob comes tearing out of Cami as her heart shatters. She silently falls to the ground and I can’t help but feel empty as I take her in. Rylee rushes into her side with Izzy and Cole while I stand completely immobilized.
I look up at Caden and I’m hit with the realization that this is probably very similar to what I’ll end up doing to him. It’s clear he’s developing some sort of feelings for me. After all, he wouldn’t be treating me the way he does if he wasn’t. I’ll end up hurting him.
This needs to stop.
Chapter 11
Imogen
I sit in my living room with a cup of tea, wearing my dressing gown and feeling completely dead inside. Watching Cami’s heart break right before me has had me a mess all afternoon. I haven’t been able to think straight.
I sent her a text checking in, but I think she just wants to be alone. Besides, I’m certain Rylee would be staying with her until the initial pain passes.
I feel like an ass. If I hadn’t agreed to go down to Rebel’s then we might not have all gone down, yet I encouraged it and our actions have caused her heart to break.
And then there’s Caden. I couldn’t put him through that. Though, who knows if he actually feels that way for me. I’ve just been assuming that he does, I haven’t actually had the balls to ask him about it.
Hopefully, I’m just imagining things and we can continue having hot sex in random places. Though something tells me I’m wrong, and if I am, if he is developing feelings for me, then it needs to stop.
Caden has been there for me since I was a kid. I couldn’t be the reason for him to suffer through pain. I just can’t. That would be unbearable.
But then… what if I’ve got this all wrong? What if all these confusing thoughts I’ve been having about him are something else entirely? What if I’m making a big mistake by ending it? What if this has just been a long drawn out beginning that’s supposed to have an incredible ending?
Fuck. I can’t go there.
A knock sounds at my door and I look across at it in confusion. It’s nearly midnight. Who the hell would be knocking on my door?
I hit the button on my phone to light up the screen. Usually, Caden would send me a text before coming over in case I was out or already in bed. It’s not him, but then it could be. I mean, he could have just forgotten to text, or maybe he did and my phone is broken. It wouldn’t be the first time. I don’t know, but it’s the only possible scenario as to who could possibly be at my door in the middle of the night.
I get up off the couch and make my way across to the door. I look through the peephole first, just to make sure, as you can never be safe enough, especially as a young woman living in an apartment complex by herself.
I’m shocked to see Rylee standing on the other side of the door and I quickly open the door. “What are you doing here?” I question. “You realize it’s the middle of the night, right?”
“Yeah,” she says as she remains hovering in the doorway, making me think this is going to be a quick visit. “Sorry to bombard you like this. I’ve just been dealing with Cami and I’m completely drained, but I just really need to get this off my chest.”
My eyebrows furrow. What could she possibly have to say to me that couldn’t wait until the morning? “Do you want to come in?” I ask.
“No,” she says. “This won’t be long.”
“What’s going on, Rylee?” I question.
She presses her lips together as she focuses on me and I see a slight anger behind her eyes. “I know that there’s something going on between you and Caden.”
My eyes widen in shock. Shit. How the hell does she know? I haven’t breathed a word to anyone and I sure as hell know Caden hasn’t either. “Um…”
“Don’t try to deny it,” she says. “I see the way you look at each other. It’s like you have a dirty secret.” She holds up her hands, stopping me from speaking out. “I don’t want to know the details of your little fuck fests. I get it, sometimes shit just happens, what I don’t get is you two lying to Cole about it.”
“I…”
“Just hear me out first, ok?”
I nod my head and let her continue. “Cole is my person and I plan on spending the rest of my life with him. So, you need to know that I will never lie to him or hold back information when I think it’s right for him to know. I’m sorry if this is coming across really harsh, but I’m emotionally exhausted after being with Cami and you need to know that if you guys don’t tell him, then I will.”
I swallow back fear as she continues.
“I love both of you guys and if whatever you are doing makes you happy, then that’s great, but you’re both betraying his trust as a brother and a friend by being together. You need to come clean and because I love you and value our friendship, I’m going to give you the chance to do it yourself.”
I hang my head a let out a breath. “I know,” I tell her. “I’ve been meaning on telling him. I just knew that the second I do, he’ll make me end it with Caden.”
“So, you guys are actually together?”
“No,” I correct her. “We’ve just got something good going.”
“Right. I’ve got it,” she says with a nod. “But just so you know, sex between friends never ends well.”
“I know. I’m dreading it,” I tell her.
“Ok, well, I better go,” she tells me. “Again, I’m sorry if I sound like a raging bitch. Know that I absolutely love you, but Cole is going to be hurt when this comes out and that really pisses me off.”
“I understand,” I tell her.
“Alright,” she says before leaning in and giving me a tight hug. “Let me know if you need to talk about it, ok? I’m always here for you.”
I nod my head once again and before I know it, she presses a kiss to my cheek and disappears down the hallway.
I close the door with my mind an absolute mess. This is not good. Now I’m not just ending it because I’m scared of hurting Caden, now I’m terrified of hurting my brother too. Shit, he’s going to lose his fucking mind.
Fuck. Poor Caden. I’m going to get yelled at, but Caden is really going to cop it. There’s going to be fists flying and Caden is just going to stand there taking it all.
I don’t know how, but I manage to walk back from the door and sit myself down on my couch. I pick up my phone and start hashing out a text to Caden.
Imogen – We need to talk.
Chapter 12
Caden
Imogen – We need to talk
Shit. That couldn’t be good.
I’ve been looking at her text for the last few minutes. I woke up this morning to find it there waiting for me and my stomach sank. I’ve never gotten a text like that from her before so it could only be bad.
I hit reply
Caden – What are you doing?
Imogen – Nothing. Just at home.
Caden – I’m coming over.
Without waiting for a reply, I get myself up and ready and head out the door. I pull up at her apartment building not long after and make my way up to her place. I knock on the door but get no response.
I turn the door handle and stick my head through the door. “Imogen? You here?
”
“Yeah,” comes her reply from down the hall. “I’ll just be a minute. Make yourself comfortable.”
Well, I don’t need to be told twice. With my stomach growling at me, I head over to her fridge and see what she has on offer. I search the shelves and am honestly very disappointed, clearly, she’s neglected to do the grocery shopping this week.
I find what looks like a green dip, possibly an avocado dip and grab it before searching her cupboards for some crackers. I grin as the yummy bastards stare back at me from their shelf in the cupboard and I grab them too.
Just as Imogen had said, I make myself comfortable on her couch and put my feet up while I get stuck into my dip and crackers. The avocado dip tastes a bit funny, but it’s still good, so it’s not long before I annihilate every last bite. Though, it really doesn’t do much to satiate the hunger within.
I’m about to get up and go searching for my next meal when Imogen appears in the hallway in a silk robe that has me drooling with a completely different type of hunger. “Hey, kid,” I grin as I take her in.
Her eyes land on mine with an intense fire as she walks towards me. She climbs onto my lap and straddles me. Her hands go to the tie holding her robe together while mine slide up the back of her thighs, pushing the fabric up with it in my need to get to her ass.
She bits her bottom lip before gently leaning forward and taking my lips in hers. I kiss her eagerly as my hands grab and squeeze her ass. She pulls up and watches me with need. She unties the robe and lets it fall open to reveal her naked body beneath. “I think it’s about time you stop calling me kid,” she murmurs as she takes my hand from her ass and rests it against the soft skin of her thigh, giving me free reign to explore.
My eyes roam over the goddess before me and I realize she’s right. I’ve been calling her ‘kid’ since we were young, but looking at her now, at the way she’s able to bring a grown man to his knees, ‘kid’ is no longer appropriate. Vixen. Feisty. Sexual Demoness. That’s more like it.
“What would you prefer?” I murmur as my hand travels up the skin of her waist, sending goosebumps all over her as she closes her eyes with desire.
Caden: Rebels Advocate (Book 2) Page 8