Ricochet

by Lore Ree

  “So, what’s up?” I rocked back on my feet. “You good?”

  She shrugged, mumbling something incoherent under her breath.

  Good talk.

  “So, I was thinking …” Teresa interrupted me and snapped at Noelle about going to their room.

  “Why are you talking to him, anyway?”

  “I’ll be right there,” Noelle said and then returned her attention to me. “Sorry about that. She was definitely expecting things to be different this weekend. As in Warren not having an extra guest.”

  “Ah.” I nodded. I couldn’t care less. She was Warren’s problem to deal with, not mine. I didn’t give two fucks about what Teresa said or thought about me, but the cockblock earned her a dirty look.

  “Noelle, come on.” Teresa whined again.

  Noelle rolled her eyes but left with Teresa anyway. With nothing left to do and no one to talk to since everyone disappeared so quickly, I checked in and dragged ass to my room.

  I barely had time to settle in before Warren called and invited me to dinner with him and Lonnie. My options were limited since Noelle was preoccupied with her friend. Plus, I was starving.

  When I got downstairs, I stopped short. Noelle was standing with them. From the glare she gave Lonnie, she made it clear she wasn’t expecting me to come along, either.

  It was not a deer-caught-in-the-headlights look. It was more like an “if I could kill you with my bare hands I would because I clearly don’t want this fucker here” look. That did wonders for my already deflating ego.

  Lunch was difficult. This felt like a double date made more awkward because one of us—Noelle—clearly didn’t want to be there.

  Lonnie tried to engage me in conversation, but I was distracted by Noelle. She didn’t scrape her food around her plate the way I did. Instead, she sucked down drink after drink.

  The meal was so miserable I was happy to head to my lonely hotel room. Halfway down the hall, Noelle stopped me.

  “Miles, may I speak with you for a moment?”

  Her formal tone annoyed the shit out of me. She acted as if we were strangers or something. As though she’d forgotten how I’d spent a good portion of a weekend balls deep inside her. I grumbled a response and motioned for her to follow me to my room.

  I plopped onto the couch, set my elbows on my knees, and stared at the floor. I had no desire to be the one who initiated conversation.

  “Listen. You don’t have to be uncomfortable around me, OK?” She spoke to me in that too-sweet-to-be-real tone my ex had mastered so well. A tone I despised almost more than anything.

  My jaw clenched. I fought not to say something I would regret. Her rambling on made it harder to bite my tongue.

  “We’re gonna be around each other for the next four days. I don’t want things to be weird.”

  I quirked an eyebrow, teeth gritted together. “Excuse me, but I’m not the one acting fucking weird here.”

  “Oh yeah.” She tapped a finger to her chin and glanced toward the ceiling. “You were perfectly normal downstairs at lunch.” She was acting like a cute little smartass, contradicting herself.

  I got more pissed—at her and myself. “I’m just …” It seemed neither of us could settle on one emotion.

  “I know. I’m caught off guard you’re here, too. Erica didn’t tell me you were coming, but we’re OK, right? We’re cool?” Her smile was forced, and the apprehension in her eyes didn’t change.

  I narrowed mine but nodded.

  “Great!”

  More fakeness.

  “Anyway, I should go check on Teresa. I’ll see you tonight?”

  “Tonight?”

  “Yeah. I assume we’re going to the club or at least doing something together, right?”

  She stared at me expectantly as is if she was waiting for me to back down, but a slow smile crept across my face. I guess I hadn’t made it clear I was up to the challenge, up for her challenge. No amount of money would have made me back down.

  “Yeah, see you then.”

  Unsurprisingly, I was the first at the rendezvous point in the lobby. Lounged on a couch, I put my head down and focused on my phone when a pair of long legs came into view. They seemed to go on for a minute, thanks to an almost nonexistent dress. After that there was nothing but big, blond hair and a poor attempt at a seductive smile. No lie, for a second I wondered if she was a hooker. It was still the weekday. The majority of everyone strolling through the lobby dressed as though they were getting ready for dinner or getting out of a business meeting. Some were checking in with friends or family. Meanwhile, she was alone with too much makeup on and dressed as though it wasn’t a random Thursday evening.

  “Can I help you?” I tried to be polite, but I kept my face blank. Didn’t want her to get the impression she was having an effect on me when she wasn’t.

  “Hi.” She sat on the arm of my couch with no regard for my personal space. “I saw you earlier.” She trailed her fingers along my jawline, causing it to clench. “While you were checking in, I saw you. Are you here with anyone?”

  “Uh …”I paused. I didn’t know what to say. I wasn’t with anyone specifically, but Noelle was here.

  If I saw her all over some guy, I’d be pissed, so I lied. “Yeah, I’m actually waiting for my girl.”

  “Pity.” She pouted and pulled a card out of nowhere. “In case you change your mind.”

  I nodded, took the card, and put it in the pocket of my shirt with no intention of ever using it.

  She left just as everyone showed up. By then I was annoyed because I had to wait so damn long for them and stunned because, fucking Christ, Noelle was the epitome of sexy yet classy.

  Not that she’d ever looked like a slut or anything, but this was different.

  “Damn!” I smiled. “You look good.”

  “Thanks,” she whispered, not making eye contact.

  This time it didn’t annoy me. I took it to mean my compliment made her kind of shy and she wasn’t avoiding me like before.

  “Can we get this over with, please?” Teresa pulled me out of my Noelle-induced haze. I understood why she was pissed about Warren and Lonnie, but the bitch was testing my patience. If she didn’t want to be there, she should have left, not acted out and made everyone else suffer because she wasn’t getting any dick.

  I cocked an eyebrow and turned my attention to Noelle. Things were improving, and Teresa wasn’t going to spoil my weekend.

  “Shall we?” I winked, offering Noelle my arm. She smiled widely and looped her arm through mine. Together, we walked the whopping ten feet to the hotel restaurant.

  Once our group was seated, Noelle and I sat across from each other. I’m not sure who decided that was a good idea because dinner was torture.

  It seemed as if everything Noelle ordered required her to lick or suck on something. When the sauce from her spaghetti dripped down her chin, she licked it off instead of wiping it with a napkin. I had to grab hold of the table to keep from leaping across it and licking her.

  My actions didn’t go unnoticed, though. Lonnie cocked an eyebrow and a familiar smug smile. “You OK there, Miles?”

  Before I could answer, Noelle fucked up.

  She smirked. Fuck it all. I realized she’d been playing up dinner on purpose.

  I cleared my throat. With a smirk, I replied to Lonnie but stared at Noelle while licking my lips, “I’m fine. By the way, Noelle, you have a little something right here.” I leaned over the table, and with my thumb, I wiped away some of the sauce from her chin. I stuck it in my mouth and moaned. “So good.”

  With a wink and smile, I leaned back in my chair.

  There was a pause, as if she was waiting for something. Then slowly this sexy look crept across her face—challenging, smoldering. This was the Noelle I’d missed. Not the timid alter ego that took over from time to time. She raised her chin in defiance, and I crossed my arms over my chest. Game on.

  Once dinner was over, someone suggested we go to one of the
clubs, but I passed. Technically, I hadn’t taken the day off and was expected to work from home. A conference call, which I couldn’t get out of, was scheduled for bright and early the next morning. Noelle also declined, and being the gentleman I was, I offered to walk her to her room.

  She was quiet and fidgeted during the entire elevator ride while I kept my eyes trained in front of me, pretending not to notice her.

  At the door of her room, she turned to face me. Gently, I pushed her against the wall, caging her head in between my hands. Bringing my mouth to her ear, I whispered, “Goodnight, Noelle.”

  Then I kissed the soft spot right behind her jaw and walked away. When she let out a frustrated noise behind me, I laughed, feeling victorious. Two could play that game.

  -TWELVE—

  I was cooped up in my room on Friday morning, working to fix some mistakes on an account I’d been assigned. That early conference call had kicked my ass, and it was made clear that I needed to make things right or not bother showing up to work next week.

  A knock on my door brought me out of my zone.

  “Who is it?”

  No one answered. Through the peephole, I saw Warren looking from left to right. The knocking turned into more of a bang. I swung the door open, ready to talk shit, but almost got knocked over when Warren pushed his way inside. He slammed the door shut, locked it, secured the latch, and pressed his head against the wood to stare out the peephole.

  He was wide-eyed when he turned. His breathing so hard I could see his chest moving, hear him gasping for breath. He looked like a man possessed or someone who ran some sort of marathon.

  A good friend would have asked him what was wrong.

  I went to the desk and ignored him.

  “You have to help me!”

  “No, I don’t.” There was no inflection in my voice as I focused my laptop. Figuring out why one of my client’s accounts wasn’t reconciling was more of a priority than Warren’s dramatics.

  “No? Just listen. This morning—”

  A knock interrupted him.

  “What the fuck!” Who was it? And who declared it “let’s fuck with Miles’ concentration” day. I stomped to the door and yanked it open. But seeing the person standing there, my heart rate increased and my anger deflated.

  After last night, she was the last person I expected to grace my doorway. But she was, and nothing could have made me happier or, admittedly, more confused. “Hey! What are you doing here? Everything OK?”

  “Oh, umm, yeah.” Noelle shuffled from foot to foot and adjusted the hem of her shirt. “Everything’s fine. Just kind of bored and wanted to see what you were up to. Are you busy?”

  Bored at Foxwoods? I called bullshit. Something else was up, but I ushered her inside anyway. “No, I’m not busy.” Not anymore. “How are you bored? What’s everyone else up to?”

  “Corey and Erica are doing their couple thing.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure what Lonnie’s doing. And I’m trying to hide from Teresa, who’s been hell bent on finding you.” She noticed Warren, half hiding behind the wall.

  “Hi, Noelle.” He lifted a hand but didn’t wave.

  She gave him a short nod. Her jaw set and eyes unwelcoming. “Warren.”

  I looked from left to right and then settled my focus on my boy. I gestured with my head to let him know he’d worn out his nonwelcome. Shit was tense. He had to go.

  “Got it.” He clapped his hands together and kept them connected to point at us. “You guys didn’t see me.”

  I was quick to nod, but Noelle didn’t respond.

  Warren ran out, literally.

  Now I was alone with the only person who had the power to make me want to laugh, smile, and shout in frustration all at once. I knew why she came to my room, and it had nothing to do with hiding from her girl and everything to do with wanting to fuck with me. Too bad I wouldn’t be able to participate in the games today. I had shit to do.

  “You’re welcome to hide in here.” I gestured around the room. No need to call her out. “But I’m in work mode, so I won’t be much company.”

  She gave me a bright smile. “That’s all right. I’ll keep out of your way.”

  Lies.

  No matter how much I tried to work and block Noelle’s presence, I was hyperaware of every move she made.

  At one point, she couldn’t seem to find a comfortable position on the bed and kept making whining noises. It was obnoxious and made it hard to concentrate. Just as I was getting ready to ask her to stop, I thought about dinner the night before and smirked. Silly Noelle.

  I closed my laptop, stood up and stretched, making sure to reach high above my head so my shirt would ride up. When I caught her staring, I made a sort of moaning sound for added effect but pretended I didn’t notice her gaze. Keeping my voice low, I moved to sit on the edge of the bed and faced her. “So what’s up for today? Did you have any plans, anything you wanted to do besides hide from your girl?”

  “Not really.” She maintained eye contact with me and licked her lips. “I mean, we could—”

  “Yes?” I leaned toward her. “We could?”

  Moving so close her breath washed over my face, Noelle whispered, “Stay in?”

  I’d been waiting for that invitation all morning or at least since she walked in my room, so I pressed my lips to hers quickly. One of us whimpered. It might have been me.

  I didn’t realize how much I’d grown accustomed to her kisses, how much I’d missed her mouth against mine. She started to pull back, but I curled my hand around the back of her neck to hold her close. I didn’t know what was going to happen once this moment was over. Would we jump right back into playing games? I appreciated this moment where both our guards were down.

  My phone rang.

  Noelle jumped, but I cradled her face to keep our mouths together. “Ignore it.”

  It kept ringing, and I’d never hated the sound of my ringtone more.

  “It might be important.”

  “It’s not.” Nothing was more important than her and what we were doing right now. I moved to kiss her neck and snaked my arm around her waist. I leaned her back when five simple words sucked out all the energy in the room.

  “What if it’s your girlfriend?”

  I flinched as if I’d been smacked with an accusation. “What are you talking about?” My voice wasn’t harsh, but it wasn’t kind, either. “I don’t have a girlfriend. Where’d you get that from?”

  “No one.” She shrugged only one shoulder this time. She wasn’t looking at me, and that pissed me off.

  “I’m not an asshole.” I tapped my thighs. It was the only thing I could think to do to calm down. “I didn’t have a girl when I met you, and I don’t have one now. If I did she would be here with me, not you.”

  “I know you didn’t have a girlfriend when I met you.” Her voice was tight, and her eyes narrowed. Her defensiveness was fucking priceless since I was the one she accused of being a player or some kind of cheater. That was never and would never be my MO “A lot could’ve happened in a month.” She put some distance between us. “For all I know, your new girlfriend’s planning on surprising us here.”

  This was déjà vu—an argument I’d had many times before. I wasn’t about to have it now or with anyone again. “If you’re talking about the bullshit going on with your girl and Warren—”

  “I’m not. Not really. Forget it.” She darted from the bed. “I should go.”

  I moved to the door and blocked her way before she could leave.

  “Hey.” I bent my knees so we were eye level. “Don’t go. Don’t be mad. We were just …” having a good time? I wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t want her to leave upset. “You’re not mad because my boy is dicking over your girl, are you?” I tried to smile, keep my voice friendly.

  “Of course not!” She screwed up her face. “You have nothing to do with their drama.”

  “Then what’s up? What’s with the switch?” I jutted my chin toward the bed whe
re I wanted us to be instead of standing by the door in a soft argument. “Everything seemed good. Then you started copping an attitude like I did something to you.”

  “I’m sorry.” She frowned, and it made me feel like shit. I hadn’t meant to snap at her.

  “Nah.” I shook my head and pinched her side. I didn’t want an apology, just an explanation. “Don’t apologize. You have no reason to be sorry. Just tell me what’s up?”

  “Nothing’s up!” The words were a rushed lie, and we both knew it, but it wasn’t worth dwelling on.

  “Come.” I grabbed her hand. If we stayed in the room, that’s what we would have done: dwell. Maybe even find something else to argue about. “Let’s go find everyone, get some lunch, and make sure our friends don’t kill each other.”

  Rallying the crew was a flop. I left my phone in the room, Corey and his girl weren’t in theirs. We decided it was best to let Warren and his girls settle their drama on their own. Whatever had him trying to be incognito this morning couldn’t have been good. Noelle and I didn’t need to get caught up in it. I laughed when I pictured Warren in some random corner of the casino hiding, but when I voiced that, Noelle scowled.

  For a second, I felt bad for my boy. All this going on with these two girls wasn’t a good look for him. “He’s not a bad guy.”

  “I never said he was.” Noelle sounded conversational, not defensive, when she continued, “And Teresa isn’t crazy.”

  The nature of the conversation was absolutely fucking lame. I didn’t want to talk about our friends, but I was too happy with how easy our words flowed to complain.

  “I never said she was.” I bumped her shoulder, smiling. Warren was the one who thought her girl was psychotic even though he had no room to talk. I didn’t have an opinion of her either way, but I didn’t want Noelle to get defensive, either. I didn’t need anything petty causing more problems or friction between us.

  “So, what kind of work do you do?”

  We continued, but I almost stopped to glance at her. I’d never met anyone who could jump in and out of a conversation like her.

  “What kind of work do I do with what?”

  “Upstairs. You said you were working. Is it OK to ask? Or is it some ancient Chinese secret?”