At the sound of Rachel’s name, her previously pliant body snaps to attention. At the sound of her own name, she pulls back and stares up at me, her coffee-colored eyes assessing. I fight a smirk as her slightly glazed expression clears with each passing second, and I can practically feel her brain scrambling for sobriety.
“Lawrence?” she gasps as recognition dawns, her plump lips parting in surprise.
“Sterling,” I correct. Damn Rachel. Even when I try to escape her clutches, she manages to follow me somehow.
“Sterling,” she repeats dazedly.
I can’t help the all out grin that breaks out when she readily calls me by my middle name, no questions asked. I knew there was something I always liked about her.
“In the flesh.”
Speaking of flesh, I’m getting an eyeful of exposed skin I haven’t had the pleasure of enjoying before. I drag my eyes up and down her short frame, taking my time, and she does the same to me. The dark to Rachel’s light, she’s the antithesis of my ex with her golden skin, petite stature, and outrageously sexy curves. I always wondered how two polar opposites could be best friends.
The dress she’s wearing is skintight and showcases the curved lines of her body to perfection. I’ve always found Perrie attractive, but being able to look my fill without setting off my harpy of an ex is freeing and has me feeling a whole new level of appreciation. Her tits are full and round, and I know for a fact her ass is just as—if not more—juicy. My fingers twitch with the urge to run them over her hourglass shape or tangle into the long, wavy mass of her hair.
Of all the things I expected to happen tonight, I didn’t think I’d run into Rachel’s best friend. It’s been about a year since we’ve seen each other, but I could never forget the spicy little spitfire in front of me. Unlike the frigid silence Rachel and I shared earlier this evening, the silence between me and Perrie is fraught with tension and awareness. It’s as if we’re taking the measure of the other and recognizing an equal. It doesn’t take a genius to know what it is: attraction. Uninhibited, unfiltered attraction.
“Holy shit. I knew you looked familiar. Sorry I didn’t recognize you at first. Blame it on too many vodka tonics and too much time that’s passed since seeing you.”
I appreciate that she doesn’t apologize for basically trying to proposition me. Her confidence is as alluring as her body.
“So, what type of distraction were you offering?” I can’t help but tease her.
“Uh-uh, we’re not going there. It’s against girl code to speak of such things, especially since you’re dating my best friend.”
She’s right, but my mission to figure out what she had in mind is put on hold as I digest her words.
“I’m not dating your best friend. We broke up.”
“Sure, you ‘broke up,’” she says, putting air quotes around the words. “If my memory serves me correctly, this seems to be a regular thing with you guys. It’s only a matter of time before you two end up back together.”
A grimace twists my lips; it’s one thing to hear it from Rachel, but it bothers me more than it should to hear it from someone else. Is this seriously what everyone thinks?
“Yeah, before,” I clarify. “But the whole story is too fucked up to get into now. What I can say is that we broke up for good this time. I broke things off a month ago.”
“A month ago?”
I nod my head in confirmation, and Perrie stares up at me with a mixture of surprise, triumph, and humor in her gaze. I look back at her, wondering what she could be thinking, when she throws her head back on a loud laugh.
“I knew she was full of shit. I don’t know why she doesn’t just tell the truth. According to her, you guys are still dating. I don’t think she got the message. She’d totally flip if she knew you were out on the town since she still thinks you’re her property.”
I frown at her disturbingly accurate assessment. “I’m not, nor have I ever been, her property. And she’s too proud. We already talked today, and she won’t accept that we’re done for good. Honestly, I’d be happy never seeing her again; I don’t need that drama in my life. I’d like to avoid it, so if you talk to her, you never saw me here.”
Perrie’s twinkling eyes are filled with mischief as she responds. “It’ll be our little secret, but there’s a price.”
“Name it.”
“First,” she holds up a finger, “you tell me how you knew I was avoiding her too.” She holds up another finger. “Second, if you talk to her, you never saw me here.”
“Deal.” I reach out, and we shake on it. I force myself to let go of her hand, which is so much smaller and softer than my own. “Right when you walked up, she texted me saying she wanted to kiss and make up since her friends bailed on her. Considering you’re here and not with her, I took a lucky guess.”
“Did you take her up on her offer to kiss and make up?”
“I’m here, aren’t I?”
“And why are you here?”
“Besides the fact that I got a much more intriguing offer tonight?” I say, pitching my voice low. The faint blush staining her bronze cheekbones manages to be both adorable and sexy. Remembering I can’t go there, I clear my throat before continuing. “I had a long day, and seeing Rachel didn’t help. My friend, Cooper, wanted to check this place out, so I jumped at the chance to let loose. Why are you here?”
“To find a guy to take home for the night. I need to let loose also. My friend Blake found a guy, but I’m being picky. I want someone who’ll rock my world, but I want to forget about them tomorrow. No luck so far.” I’m not sure if she’s always this blunt or if the alcohol is talking, but her unfettered honesty is refreshing. She’s pretty damn cool. “I didn’t get pulled away from my precious zombie shows and all dolled up to stand around and do nothing.”
She gestures toward her figure, inviting my gaze, so I take advantage. I lick my lips as my eyes trace her curves again, and I can’t help how husky my voice sounds when I respond.
“See, that’s your problem.”
One winged brow rises at my words. “What’s my problem?”
“You want a man who’ll rock your world, but you want to forget them tomorrow. Trust me, any man who can do the job right won’t be so easily forgotten.”
“You sound like you know these types of men.”
I move toward her, invading her space, and lean down so we’re almost at eye level. “I am that type of man.” My words are imbued with confidence and are heavy with promise, even though they shouldn’t be.
As I speak, I run the cool base of my beer bottle up her forearm to her elbow, which causes her breath to hitch; I can’t help myself, but at least we’re not skin to skin. I pull away to see her reaction to my whispered words. Her plump lower lip is held captive between her teeth, and she surprises me by stepping closer and grabbing ahold of my tie.
“Sounds like you’ll be the perfect man for the job,” she purrs, and the throaty sound sends blood rushing straight to my cock. She’s off limits, but it’s fucking intoxicating to cause this type of reaction in her. Before I can say anything in return, she tugs on my tie and pulls me down so we’re eye level again. “Since my bestie is gone, I’m enlisting you as my new wingman. Time to help me find my companion for tonight.”
“I’ll be your wingman, but there’s a price,” I taunt softly, mimicking her words from earlier.
“Name it.”
“Tell me, what were you going to offer as a distraction earlier when you didn’t realize it was me?”
My words are low and earnest because I’m genuinely curious.
She releases my tie and takes a few steps backward. “Girl code, remember? It doesn’t matter what I was going to say. Forget it.”
“Then I can’t be your wingman, Perrie.”
She huffs out in frustration, and she stares me down for a few seconds, clearly thinking about how to move forward.
“Fine. I honestly don’t know what I was going to offer.” My eyebrow lif
ts in disbelief, and she rushes on. “For real, I didn’t know. I’m spontaneous and had one too many drinks, so I just went with it. I was thinking about how much guys suck nowadays, and you caught my eye from afar. Sue me. I never would’ve approached you had I recognized you. Now, will you help a girl out? Please?”
She shamelessly bats her lashes, and I chuckle at her expression. “Pretty brave of you to open up that conversation without knowing where it would lead. What if it wasn’t me? Then what?”
“We’ll never know, now will we? Since our friends left us, we’re stuck with each other for now, bud,” she says as she turns on her heel and heads toward the bar. “Let’s go find my man.”
She grins playfully and winks at me over her shoulder as she walks away without another look back, as if she expects me to follow.
I’m not in the habit of ever chasing women, but I can already tell spending time with Perrie will be unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I don’t have a lot of female friends, especially ones I fantasize about, but I feel comfortable with her in a way I don’t feel with most people. With my eyes glued to her sexy as fuck, off limits ass—I was right, it’s even juicier than her tits—I follow her to the bar.
Time to play wingman; too bad she won’t find anyone better at what she’s looking for than me. Since we won’t be going there, looks like I’ll have to help her settle for second best. After all, what are friends for?
5
Perrie
I keep a hand pressed against my chest the entire time I walk over to the bar. My heart is beating rapidly, and my entire body feels flushed, but I’m going to blame that on the over-crowded building and not the interaction I just had with Sterling, current ex-boyfriend to my somewhat best friend.
For a few moments, I don’t feel him behind me, and I worry he’s going to call it a night and not accept my offer. Thankfully, I’m proven wrong when I feel a hand press against my back and that same husky tone from before leaning in, trying to be heard over the noise of the joint.
“I almost lost you for a minute,” he says quietly, breath tickling my skin.
“Yeah? Maybe you shouldn’t have hesitated,” I jab, calling him out.
“I was just admiring the view,” I swear I hear him say, but I don’t press. Instead, I lean my forearms on the tabletop of the bar and take a deep breath, gathering myself. That could have gone completely wrong had he not recognized me and said something about it. I mean, I was ready to take him home, but that clearly would have ended in disaster.
He’s attractive, strong, and not ever going to be available to me. Rachel is, well, she’s Rachel, and girl code is a real thing. Despite our friendship not being the most authentic, it would still be wrong of me to hook up with her ex—right?
I turn, back pressing against the marble of the bartop, and look up at the man I’ve just tasked with helping me find someone to bed.
Way to go, Perrie. One minute you’re trying to lay him, and the next, you’re asking him to find you someone else to lay.
I shake the voice, ignoring it. This night, I’ve decided, is all about living in the moment, and that’s what I’m going to do, clear crystal gaze be damned.
“You’re very confident, aren’t you?” I muse, eyes narrowing.
A smirk plays on his lips, and his hands press against the surface on either side of me, body leaning in slightly. I suck in a breath.
“And you’re very honest, aren’t you?” he shoots back.
“Is there any other way to be?”
“Touché.” He nods, a small smile lighting up his face as he straightens his body, pulling away from mine.
I tilt my head, brow raising in challenge. “So, are we doing this or not?”
“What?” He chuckles. “Finding someone worthy of your time? Not without a couple of shots of some very strong alcohol first.”
I laugh, lightly hitting his shoulder as he signals to the bartender and orders four shots of tequila. I lick my lips, anticipation bubbling in my stomach. Tequila is dangerous. I mean, whenever I drink it, I’m sure to black out. But it’s a night of fun, of letting loose. Besides, a couple won’t hurt.
When the drinks are delivered, Sterling hands me one while he grabs another. He clinks his glass with mine, but just as he’s about to slam it back, I reach out and stop him.
“Wait, you’re missing the two most important parts,” I say, debating with myself on whether or not to do this next step.
“Oh yeah? What important parts are those?” He humors me.
I ignore the angel on my shoulder telling me this is a bad idea and listen to the red-horned vixen cheering me on from the other side.
I pull his free hand down, lick the curve between his thumb and index finger, and reach behind, grabbing the salt shaker and pouring a few pieces over the now wet spot on his hand.
His light blue eyes darken, and I give him a small smirk, doing the same to my own hand before handing him a wedge of lime—courtesy of the bartender—and hold one of my own.
“There, that’s better,” I announce, eyelashes batting. “Now, what should we toast to?”
His brows furrow for a moment before he shakes his head lightly and holds my gaze. “How about we toast to new friends and better bedmates?”
“Better bedmates?” I question with a laugh.
“It seems we both need someone new to get under,” he says, pausing before continuing, “or over.”
I swallow over the dry lump in my throat and straighten my shoulders. “Does this mean I get the honor of choosing someone for you as well?”
“Honor?” His lips quirk.
“Mmhmm,” I hum, holding my shot glass a little higher. “So, to new friends and better bedmates.”
“To new friends and better bedmates,” he repeats, eyes searching mine.
I brush off his stare, clinking my glass with his. I go to lick the salt off my hand, but he stops me, leaning down to lick the salted part of my skin. His tongue brushes out, his lips gently suck, and then he’s throwing his shot back, ignoring the lime.
He wears a look of mischief, and I raise my brows in challenge.
Huh. So Sterling wants to play.
Two can play at this game.
I pull his hand toward my mouth. My tongue darts out, slowly, sensually, as I mirror his actions, tongue darting out and lips lightly sucking. He groans, and I continue, like the sound didn’t shoot straight down my body.
I pull back, holding his eyes the entire time, swallowing the clear liquid. It burns, but I welcome the discomfort. With a quick suck of the wedged lime, I pull my bottom lip into my mouth and straighten my posture.
“You play dirty, Sterling.”
“So do you, Perrie.”
“I have a feeling we’re going to be great friends,” I remark, voice lowering an octave.
“Something like that,” he murmurs mostly to himself.
I have to strain to hear, but I let his words slip. “So, shall we get started?”
Sterling shakes his head, smirk in place again. “We still have one more shot to take.”
I playfully roll my eyes. “Fine, but then it’s game time.”
“Whatever you say, Perrie,” his voice teases.
Once we swallow down our next shots, sans salt and lime much to my dismay, we each turn, our bodies facing the room and our backs pressing against the counter of the bar.
“This is going to be fun,” I comment, eyes searching every other girl in the bar.
“It’s going to be something, all right,” he responds, a chuckle in his tone.
I lightly slap his shoulder with the back of my hand. “A little confidence would be nice, Mr. Montgomery.”
“All right, all right,” he chuckles. “I’ll give you a fair shot.”
“Oh, how kind of you,” I say with a roll of my eyes, sarcasm lacing my words. “Now, let’s get back to the task at hand.”
“How are we going to do this?”
“We just are.”
�
�No ground rules?”
“Nope,” I pop. “Complete and utter trust, my new friend. Besides, as long as you don’t pick me out someone who looks like they’re from a nineties boy band stuck in that era, we should be fine. And I’ll obviously choose the best-looking girl here for you.”
“You could try, but I don’t think that’s possible,” he muses.
“And why is that?” I ask in challenge.
“Because she’s standing right beside me, and apparently girl code is a thing that exists,” he repeats my earlier words. “Or something like that.”
I bite back a smile, ignoring the tightening of my lower belly. It was probably from the tequila, anyway.
Down, girl.
I sway a little to the music overhead, eyes searching every person throughout the space that I can see. If I’m going to do this, I’m not going to half-ass it. He is mending—not really, but still—a broken heart, fresh off a breakup, and I am only in need of some tender love and care, a.k.a. sex.
“I know exactly who to choose for you,” Sterling announces from beside me, eyes trained on someone in the distance. “Be right back.”
Before I can argue, he strides across the room, talks to someone I can’t make out thanks to his blocking body, and then makes his way back to me.
When he’s standing beside me again, I turn my body to face his. “Let me guess, the dude thought it was creepy?”
“The opposite, actually,” he smirks down at me. “He should be here in a few seconds.”
“Seconds?” I ask, eyes widening. “I haven’t even found someone for you yet.”
“Eh, I’m good finding one on my own,” he comments, blue eyes shining with amusement.
I hold up my middle finger, giving him my best fuck you smile.
Not even a second later, I feel a finger lightly tap against my shoulder. Sterling barely holds in his laughter.
I turn slowly, middle finger lowering, as I’m met with the second hottest guy in the room. Sterling is the first, but you won’t hear me admit that out loud.
Don't Let Me Be Yours Page 3