Looking back down at her, I shook my head. “Changed my mind, honey. Sorry.”
Walking away from the brunette, I made my way over to Ryn. Stopping at them, the guy looked at me. “Sorry, dude, they were mine first.”
Ryn turned and stopped dancing the moment she saw me. “Tristan, what are you doing here?” Looking around, Ryn must have noticed how everyone was dancing. She took a few steps away from the asshole she was dancing with.
“What the fuck are you doing here, Ryn?”
Anger moved over her face. “I’m dancing, asshole.”
Grabbing her hand, I pulled her closer to me. “Ryn, this side of the club is for people who want to hook-up for sex, and not just any kind of sex. Most are into fetish shit.”
Ryn’s mouth gapped open in surprise. Thank God. By her response she had no clue.
Hitting the other girl, Ryn shouted, “Marie! We need to go back to the other side of the club!”
Marie jetted out her lower lip, but nodded her head, turned and began heading back to the other side. I was still holding onto Ryn’s arm as I moved her through the group of people. Once we got through the mob, she yanked her arm from me. “I think we can manage from here, thanks.”
Ryn went to turn and leave before she stopped and looked back at me. Her eyes widened and she went to say something, but closed her mouth quickly. Looking away for a few seconds she turned back and captured my eyes. “What were you doing over there, Tristan?”
Fuck.
“Looking for my friend, he headed over to that side a few minutes ago, I was checking on him.”
Tilting her head, Ryn looked my body up and down. I was pretty sure she wasn’t aware that she was biting down on her lip, causing it to turn white from how hard she was putting pressure on it.
Giving her the smile that I knew made her weak in the knees, I winked. Her mouth parted open slightly, and for one brief moment, I wanted to take Ryn back to my condo and show her how I could make her feel pleasure she’d only dreamed of. Then, I remembered the look of horror that was on her face not more than a minute ago.
“Are you here with Sierra?” Ryn asked.
Jerking my head back, I just stared at her. I wasn’t expecting that. Was Ryn jealous of Sierra? Narrowing my eyes, I said, “No. Should I be?”
“Oh . . . um . . . well I guess I just assumed.”
Leaning closer to her, I moved my lips to her ear. “You assume too much, Ryn.”
Pulling back, I smiled, turned and headed toward the exit. I needed to get the fuck out of this club. Ryn looked amazing in the black dress she was wearing. I wanted to rip it from her body and take her right there on the spot. I did want to chuckle though when I saw she was wearing flip-flops. I’m sure because of her ankle, she couldn’t wear heals yet.
Once the cool air hit my face, I dragged in a deep breath. Closing my eyes, I dropped my head back. “Son-of-a-bitch,” I whispered.
“Leaving already, sir?”
Snapping my head forward, I was looking at the valet driver. “Yeah, sorry, the mood’s been killed.”
Nodding his head, he turned and took off running toward the valet parking lot. I needed to get away from Austin for awhile. Pulling out my phone, I sent Lark a text.
Me: Is that invite for Thanksgiving still open?
Lark: Always, dude. Can you come a few days earlier?
Me: Sounds good. I need wide open space to clear my thoughts.
Lark: You’re welcome anytime. Come whenever you want.
The valet driver pulled up and parked my black BMW right in front of me. Walking to him, I handed him a tip, got in my car, and decided maybe I needed to work on moving on from Ryn.
Running my hand through my hair, I let out moan. “Time to move on, Tristan. Time to move on.”
Sitting in the Jeep, I looked out over the hill country. “It’s beautiful here.”
Lark let out a chuckle. “Yeah, it is. You tired of the corporate world yet, big brother? You could come help me here.”
Turning toward Lark, I smiled. “When I give up my godforsaken shit ass job, I’m heading down to the ranch.”
“Ah . . . South Texas is where your heart belongs, huh?”
Closing my eyes for a brief second, I opened them and looked out over the hills again. “I’m not really sure where my heart belongs anymore.”
I knew Lark was looking at me, but I kept my eyes fixed out over the countryside. “Are things over for good with Liberty?”
Laughing, I nodded my head. “Yeah. That’s been over for a while now. I haven’t heard from her since your wedding.”
“Sierra?”
“A friend and that’s all. She’s going through some shit right now with her dirtbag ex and I’m not going to abandon her. Besides, she is funny as hell to hang out with.”
Lark mumbled, “Fair enough.”
“Before you say it, Ryn has moved on. I thought maybe there might have been something still there between us when we were at the beach house . . . but there wasn’t.”
Lark was silent, so I turned to look at him. He was staring straight ahead. “Are you sure about that, Tristan? What’s your heart telling you?”
Dropping my head back, I laughed my ass off before looking back at Lark. “It’s telling me I’m better off being single. Besides, I don’t think Ryn would get into my . . . other lifestyle.”
Rolling his eyes, Lark slowly shook his head. “You’re not even giving her the chance to decide that for herself. Besides, from what Azurdee says, Ryn isn’t as innocent as you think she is.”
Looking straight ahead, I smiled as I thought about some of the moments Ryn and I shared together.
“I’m not so sure she is ready to find out I have a whole damn room in my condo in Austin for nothing but sexual fun, Lark.”
“And I never thought Azurdee would screw me on my bike while people watched us . . . but she did. And she liked it.”
Getting out of the Jeep, I turned to Lark. “Dude, really? I didn’t need to hear that and I sure as hell didn’t need the visual.” Running my hands down my face, I let out a frustrated moan. “Shit. I’m never gonna get that out of my memory now.”
WALKING INTO STARBUCKS, I LOOKED around for Sierra. She was sitting at a table talking to an older woman. The way she smiled and talked to the woman caused me to smile. I could see why Tristan would be attracted to her. I could see why any man would be attracted to Sierra. She was carefree, friendly, and funny as hell.
Sierra looked up and lifted her hand in a wave. Waving back, I pointed to the counter. Placing my order for coffee, I walked over and sat down at the table with Sierra and the older woman.
“Darling, have you always been so outspoken?” the older woman asked Sierra. Smiling, I wondered what it was Sierra had said. Glancing over to Sierra, I raised my eyebrow at her.
Grinning a Cheshire cat smile, Sierra purred, “Yes. Yes, I have.”
The older woman and Sierra started laughing. My name was called out and I headed up to the counter as the older woman stood and excused herself. By the time I made it back to the table, Sierra sat back smiling at me like she didn’t have a care in the world. A small tinge of jealousy raced through my body as I thought back to Tristan telling me that he and Sierra had slept together.
Sitting, I began chewing on my lip. Sierra leaned forward and looked me in the eyes. “Tell me what’s on your mind, Ryn. I can see your mind is racing with stuff.”
Swallowing hard, I glanced down to my coffee before looking back up at Sierra. “I know I have no right asking this, and please set me straight if I’m overstepping my boundaries here . . .”
Placing her chin on top of her hands, Sierra said, “I feel a but coming on.”
My hands started sweating and my heart felt like it had begun racing a hundred miles an hour. Was I sure I wanted to ask Sierra about her and Tristan? Was I ready to hear her response? Why did I even care? I gave up on guys. I was taking a break. I didn’t need a man in my life.
What
I did want was a friendship with Sierra and I knew this whole thing with Tristan was the reason I kept sending her calls to voicemail.
“Sierra, I’m really glad we met and I think that we could really be great friends.”
“I agree, Ryn.”
Blowing out a breath, I fell back in the chair. “Shit, I’m just going to come out and ask. Are you and Tristan together? What I mean is, are you dating each other?”
Sierra grinned. “No. We’re friends, Ryn. That’s all.”
I was on a roll now and apparently my mouth moved before my head thought about it. “Friends with benefits?”
Tilting her head and giving me a look, she asked, “You mean like you and Dodge?”
Ouch. I guess I deserved that one.
“I guess I deserved that one.”
Giving me a smirk, she winked. “No, Ryn. Tristan and I are not fuck buddies.” Looking away for a brief second, she looked back at me. “I’m not going to lie to you and say we haven’t hooked up because we have and it was fairly recently, but it meant nothing to either one of us.”
Feeling the burn in my eyes, I nodded as I turned away. “I know I have no right to be jealous, Sierra, believe me I know that. I can’t help it though. The idea of you and Tristan together . . .”
Sierra reached across the table and took my hand in her hand. “Ryn, please listen to what I’m about to say, okay?”
Nodding my head, I whispered, “Okay.”
“I hate to see you and Tristan pushing each other away because I know how you both feel about each other. With my own husband cheating on me, I totally get where you are coming from, Ryn. You don’t want to open yourself up to him hurting you again. But isn’t that what love is all about? Opening our hearts up and taking that leap of faith and not having a damn clue where we are going to land.”
Smiling, I agreed with Sierra. “Yes, but it is scary as hell taking that leap when you’ve already fallen hard once before, Sierra.”
Letting out a gruff laugh, Sierra said, “Girl, don’t I know. Believe me you . . . I know.” Chewing on her bottom lip, I knew she wanted to say more and was conflicted about if she should or not.
Clearing her throat, Sierra said, “Um, I know this is none of my business and Tristan would be really pissed with me even saying anything, but I have to. Ryn, there is a reason Tristan got spooked last year and pushed you away, and it has nothing to do with Liberty.”
Trying to keep my heart from pounding out of my chest, I slowly took a deep breath. Tristan got spooked? Opening my mouth to say something, I heard a familiar voice.
“Hey, Ryn, Sierra, how are you both doing?”
Glancing up, I saw Dodge standing there. Shit! Glancing back to Sierra, I had more questions for her.
Sierra looked toward Dodge and I couldn’t help but notice how her eyes lit up and the smile that spread across her face seemed to light up the area around her.
Oh. My. Gosh. Sierra likes Dodge!
“Oh, hey there, Dodge. Have you always come to this Starbucks?” Sierra asked. Looking back at Dodge, he smiled and nodded his head.
“Yes ma’am.”
Sierra leaned back and raised her eyebrows. “Huh. I can’t believe I’ve never seen you here before.”
“Yeah, same here.”
My mouth dropped open when I saw that look move across Dodge’s face. For one brief moment, he was interested in Sierra. He quickly recovered and said, “It’s good seeing you both. I’ve got a meeting I need to get to, see y’all later.”
I watched Sierra eye fuck the hell out of Dodge as he walked away. Dodge turned and gave a quick wave of his hand before walking out of Starbucks.
Sierra regained her composure, even though I’m almost positive she wiped a bit of drool from her mouth. Looking back at me, she smiled.
“Oh my gosh, you have the hots for Dodge!”
Sierra pulled her head back and gave a nervous laugh. “What?”
Pointing to her, I chuckled. “You practically undressed him as he walked out the door.”
Brushing me off with her hand, she rolled her eyes. “Bitch, please. I’m in the middle of a nasty breakup. The last thing I want is another guy in my life.”
Smiling until my cheeks hurt, I leaned in closer. “You know, Dodge is pretty good at making you forget things.” I winked at her as she rolled her eyes.
Sierra mumbled, “Yeah right. He’s done such a fabulous job with you.”
Leaning back in my chair, I shook my head. “I don’t count. I’m in love with Tristan. You can’t stand your ex.”
Jumping up and nearly knocking her chair over, Sierra pointed at me and jumped up and down while yelling out, “I knew it! I flippin’ knew it! Ha! I’m so damn good at this shit!”
Grabbing her and pulling her back into her seat, I put my finger up to my lips to hush her.
“Good lord, Sierra! Keep it down.” Looking around, I offered my apologies to everyone as they shook their heads in disbelief that anyone would have an outburst in their precious coffee shop.
Giggling like a schoolgirl, Sierra kept repeating. “I knew it! I so knew you were not over him.”
Then her smile dropped. “Shit. That must mean, Homerun isn’t that good with his bat.”
Narrowing my eyes at her I said, “Wait. What? You mean Dodge?”
“Yeah. Huh . . . his body screams good fuck.”
The table next to us started staring again. Jumping up, I grabbed my purse, coffee, and Sierra and began walking toward the door.
Once we got outside, I started walking away from Starbucks. I was never going to be able to show my face in that place again.
“You made it so I can never set foot in there again!” I called back over my shoulder.
Laughing, Sierra came up next to me. “Nonsense, they’ll get so buried in their work and forget anything that happened to them today.”
Smiling, I turned to Sierra. “He’s great in bed by the way.”
I could see out of the corner of my eye Sierra turn and look at me. “I figured he had to be if you’ve been hooking up with him so long. Then there was the unfortunate incident when I had to listen to how good he was.”
My mind went back to Tristan looking at the kitchen island. “Hey Sierra, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. Can’t say I’ll know the answer, but have at it.”
“Did you tell Tristan about overhearing me and Dodge . . . um . . . you know . . . that day in the kitchen?”
I stopped walking after she remained a little too quiet. “You did tell him!”
Stopping she turned to me and held up her hands. “No! I did not tell him.”
Giving her the same look my mother used to give me when she knew I was lying, I glared at her. “Sierra. You had to have told him. He knew.”
Confusion swept over Sierra’s face. “Wait. He talked to you about it?”
Turning my head to the side, I said, “No. When he brought me home he looked over into the kitchen and I could see it all over his face. He knew.” Slowly shaking my head I whispered, “You broke the girlfriend code.”
Dropping her mouth open, she snarled her upper lip. “Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. I would never break the girlfriend code. Well, I mean there may be situations where it calls for a time and place to break it, like if someone was about to get hurt or hurt themselves. Or if your friend had on an awful looking dress and you had to let her go out in it because . . .”
Placing my hands on my hips, I dragged in a frustrated breath. “Sierra!”
Sierra instantly stopped talking as she gave me a blank stare. “Right. What were we talking about again?”
Rolling my eyes as I tossed my hands up in the air. “Ohmygod! You telling Tristan that Dodge fucked me on the kitchen counter.”
Pointing her finger at me, she said, “Hey! I didn’t tell him. He saw y’all.”
I sucked in a breath of air as Sierra slammed her hands over her mouth. Her eyes widened in horror before she dropped her hands and spoke barely above
a whisper, “I’ve got to get to work. Later.”
It took me all of five seconds to get my wits about me, and I was taking off after Sierra. “Oh no you don’t. No, no, no! Sierra, you have to tell me the truth. Tristan saw us?”
Stopping, she dropped her head back and let out a loud moan. “Don’t make me do this, Ryn. Tristan is like my best friend now and if I say anything, I’m not being a good friend.”
“Well, what am I?”
Tilting her head and giving me a ‘really’ look she said, “A friend who has been sending my ass to voicemail for the last few weeks.”
Closing my eyes for a brief second before opening them again, I grabbed her hands. “Fine, I’m sorry. I suck at the whole friend thing. I’ll totally make it up to you by taking you to some overpriced fancy spa for the weekend.”
Moaning, Sierra closed her eyes. “Oh that sounds like heaven.”
“The whole package, massages, mani/pedis, facials, you name it and it’s my treat.”
Giving me a smile that screamed she had won this battle, she looked around. “Fine. But you have to swear you won’t tell Tristan I told you.”
Nodding my head frantically, I whispered, “I swear.”
Holding up her pinky, Sierra asked, “Pinky swear? Stick a needle in your eye kind of swearing?”
“What are we, in middle school?”
Jetting her pinky out at me and raising an eyebrow she whispered, “Swear?”
Ugh. If I didn’t really like Sierra so much I’d reach back and punch her right now. I just wanted to know how Tristan saw Dodge and I together.
Twisting my pinky around Sierra’s, I said, “I swear.”
Looking satisfied, she opened her mouth and spilled. “Daddy and I were coming to paint for the day and we walked up to a guy who was standing on top of one of our ladders. I could already hear you and Dodge in your love fest, so I knew he was peeping in on y’all.”
My face burned with embarrassment. “You need to better sound proof your damn house.”
Laughing, Sierra started walking as she kept talking. I followed right next to her, waiting for her to go on with her story. “Anywho, Tristan stepped back off the ladder and it was as if he was attempting to get air in. I thought he was turned on from watching y’all and I was so pissed off until I saw the look on his face. I could tell he wasn’t just a Peeping Tom. He looked devastated.” Sierra stopped talking and looked at me. “His eyes were filled with regret. Kind of like when someone hurts you so badly and in that moment when they realize the mistake they’ve made, they regret it. That’s how Tristan looked.”
Undeniable Love Page 11