Between Friends (Between the Raindrops #3)

by Susan Schussler

  “The same for me only with Coke and ice,” I say.

  “Thanks, Rosie,” Liam says and as soon as she leaves, the guy who met us at the door approaches.

  “So this is the girl?” the shorter, dark-haired man says doing a fist bump/handshake combination with Liam.

  Liam smiles. What girl? I’m not the girl. I can’t be the girl.

  “Where’s our bottle service, Theo?” asks Nikki. “You promised us bottle service.”

  Theo smiles with an unapologetic shrug and turns back to Liam. “You were right about her.” He glances at me. “Perfect.”

  “Definitely one for the next,” says Liam, and then winks at me.

  I wish I understood what they were talking about.

  “Got that track you promised to listen to,” Theo says taking a step back.

  “Right behind you,” says Liam, then leans in and speaks only to me, “Don’t go anywhere. I’ll be right back.” His thumb caresses my back with one final stroke and my body clinches where no one else can see. Holy stilettos that hit deep.

  The second he leaves, the girls are all over me.

  “How do you know Liam Nordstrom? And don’t give us this crap about you met through friends. Who are your friends?” asks Nikki.

  “One of his best friends is married to one of my best friends. I met him at this very club in the spring. It’s not a big deal.”

  “You’ve slept with him, haven’t you?” asks Arianna, though it is more of a statement.

  “We’re friends.”

  “You either have or you’re going to. His hands were all over you. He either expects to get some or he’s already had it,” says Trina.

  “Or both,” adds Nikki. “Is he as good as they say?” She must be friends with the girls I met in the club bathroom the first time I was here.

  A smile spreads across my face.

  “Okay. Is it a friends with benefits?” asks Nikki.

  I shrug because, honestly, I don’t know what it is. I need to change the subject with something that will distract the conversation. “Did you see anything when I did that flip across his back? It wasn’t a full frontal was it?”

  “No, the camera angle was off. No lady parts,” says Trina. “You still haven’t told us about you and Nordstrom. It’s like we don’t even know you.”

  Seriously? I met her yesterday. She doesn’t know me. “There’s not much to tell. We hooked up a couple of times. But we’re friends.” Did I say too much? I can’t tell them he’s devastated me and I cried for weeks when he never called.

  “Oh my god. Is that a gold wristband?” asks Nikki, grabbing my arm and examining the band the bouncer attached. “Did you go up there? What’s it like?”

  “I didn’t go up. Liam wanted to, but I told him I needed to come back here.”

  “So we could go up with you, right? You are my new best friend, Megan. Did he say he was with Jake Gorboni?” asks Nikki.

  We talk for another fifteen minutes about celebrities until a group of guys approaches the table. A couple of them know Nikki. She begins introductions and I start to wonder if Liam will ever return. What am I going to do if he does return?

  “And this is Megan. She arrived a couple of days ago from Minnesota.”

  “Let me guess, you want to be an actress?” says tall, dark, and adorable.

  “Nope. Grad school.”

  He introduces himself in more detail, and we talk about the club and the music, and he reveals he’s a native of Los Angeles but has been out of the country traveling for the last six months. He doesn’t look the blond, surfer stereotype with his dark hair and skin, and light-colored eyes. He’s a bit of a flirt and a good distraction from Nordstrom, who I’m sure has completely forgotten about me with the gorgeous blonde standing next to him at the DJ booth. I struggle to stop watching as her long fingers touch him. His arm. His back. His lips. Arg. I need to stop obsessing over him. I turn to Neo Lund, a.k.a. tall, dark, and handsome as he leans down closer to my ear.

  “What are you studying in school?”

  I gloss over my education plans and he smiles as if he doesn’t believe me.

  “You are such a liar. There is no way you’re an applied mathematics major. I have a degree in applied mathematics and chem.”

  “I am.” I laugh. “I like the theoretical part, the way the numbers sort out.”

  “You are way too beautiful to be a math major.” His eyes peruse my legs and then meet my eyes. I could easily say the same thing about him.

  “What color are your eyes? I can’t tell in this light,” I ask, and he smiles.

  “You tell me,” he says, leaning in to give me a closer look. He is inches from my face.

  His eyes are the most interesting color—sage-green brimmed with whiskey-brown. His whole look is gorgeous. His dark hair makes his light eyes pop. “Green, right?”

  He shrugs, standing back up. “It depends on what I wear.” His hand grasps my shoulder. “So you live next to Nikki?” His face crinkles as if he feels sorry for me.

  “Don’t hold it against me.”

  He laughs and looks over to her. “So you know her well?” he asks. Our voices are soft enough and the music is too loud for her to hear our conversation.

  “Just met yesterday. But I am a pretty good judge of character.” I am a good judge of character. I just make poor choices and ignore common sense. I don’t add my commentary though.

  “So now that you’re done traveling, what are you going to do?”

  “Probably go work for my dad. He runs a plastic extruding business.” He takes his hand off my shoulder to pull a business card out of his wallet, and hands it to me. It looks generic with a company logo, an email address, and a phone number. “That’s my cell. Keep it.” He smiles.

  I’m not sure if it is supposed to impress me or if it is just a ploy to give me his number. I stuff the card into the small purse slung across my body.

  “What are you doing with your degree?” he asks.

  “I was thinking I would discover an algorithm that cures cancer. Or one that protects people’s identities. I don’t know. I shouldn’t have to have it all figured out by the age of twenty-two. Maybe I’ll teach,” I say and that’s when I feel Nordstrom’s lips on my neck. I know it’s him because I can smell his clean, expensive cologne and my whole body purrs to his touch.

  “Did you miss me?” he mumbles against my neck.

  I realize in this moment no other man exists in a world with Liam Nordstrom, no matter how good-looking. His breath heats me to the core. I visualize him behind me, grasping my hips. My brain is mush.

  “No,” I say, and he pulls back, staring into my eyes. He can tell I’m lying.

  “I missed you,” Liam whispers. Somehow I doubt that. Out of sight, out of mind, seems more his style. Then he turns and fist bumps tall, dark and handsome. “How’ve you been, man?”

  Lund looks between Liam and me, shaking his head. I imagine my body’s response to Nordstrom is more visible than I want.

  “I thought you said you just moved here a couple of days ago. How do you know this player?”

  I open my mouth to answer when Nordstrom interrupts.

  “I take offense to that,” he says with a not quite serious face. “She’s best friends with Jonathan William’s wife. We were paired at the wedding ceremony and shared a blissful week on a Caribbean island.” Claimed. Damn him. Of course, the music quiets just as Liam opens his mouth and the whole table hears his explanation.

  “Oh,” Lund says. He half smiles, then another look I can’t interpret crosses his face.

  I glance to Arianna, and she’s scowling at me. I guess I should have told her about Sarah right away. That’s not my personality though. I mouth, I’m sorry to her, and she shakes her head. I don’t know her well enough to figure out if she is mad or not. A bouncer brings a stool for Nordstrom and he sits down between me and Arianna.

  “So, Arianna, where exactly is this apartment you share with Meg?” Nordstrom asks,
placing his arm across the back of her chair. I’m distracted by his arm and don’t realize what he’s asking until it’s too late.

  Trina answers quickly. “The Plaza. And Nikki and I live right across the hall in 211. You should come hang with us.”

  “What’s Meg’s number?”

  “Cut it out, Nordstrom. I don’t want you to know where I live.”

  Trina looks at me as if I just threw her phone into the toilet. Then she smiles at Liam, flips her hand as if dismissing me, and says, “She’s just joking. They’re in 212. We should meet up with your buddies upstairs and head over to the apartment later. I make a mean apple shooter.” She crosses her legs using the seductive move I patented.

  “No,” I say, without any further explanation. I wasn’t prepared to see Nordstrom tonight and why is he being so inquisitive. I know we talked about dating after I got to L.A., but that was before he gave me the silent treatment. This isn’t right. He can’t have it both ways. I turn and ask, “Lund, do you want to dance?”

  He takes my hand and we make it about five steps before Nordstrom spins me around and asks, “What are you doing, Meg?” His dark eyes penetrate me, his chest puffed out.

  His expression reminds me of when I answered my hotel suite door wearing just a towel. My heart races. I swallow hard and say, “I’m dancing with my new friend.” I stress the word friend. “That’s what clubs are for, meeting new people and dancing.”

  “You’re not leaving until we talk,” he whispers in my ear before turning back to the table.

  I smile at Lund and say, “Actors. They’re so dramatic.”

  He laughs and we start dancing. Lund can dance, but our rhythm seems off from the very start.

  “So what’s with you and Nordstrom? He made it sound as if you two were dating, but here you are dancing with me.”

  “We may have dated for a week, but I haven’t talked to him or seen him for a month.”

  “You’re not the reason he took himself off the market? He’s seems a bit pissed about us dancing together. He’s glaring at me.”

  “Definitely not. That’s a weird comment. Why would you know if he’s taken himself off the market?”

  “I just got back into town. I had lunch with a bunch of friends today, and one of them used to hook up with him every once in a while. She was all bent out of shape because he’s off the market.”

  “It’s not me. We’re not together.”

  He grasps my hips and grinds against me as he speaks into my ear. “I think it is. He looks as if he’s going to vomit.”

  “Good,” I say, reaching up behind me and combing my fingers through his dark hair. The chemistry between us is nowhere near what I have with Nordstrom, but I don’t care. Liam doesn’t get to call all the shots.

  On the way back to the table, he says, “I’m here if you are interested in revenge sex.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” I say with a laugh. I’m glad he understands. I look up and Nordstrom’s brooding eyes are tracking us, but by the time we make it back to the table, Liam seems to have regained his composure and is talking to Arianna.

  Nordstrom leans into me and says, “You’re not leaving with anybody, but me,” then turns back to Arianna without another word. I have to remind my body he has no claim on me. I step closer to Lund. I can see on his face I’m not fooling him with my false interest.

  “You like him, don’t you?”

  I shake my head. “I wish I didn’t. But I’ve never been good at controlling chemistry.”

  “My friend Tara acts lost around him, too. Does he have a magical dick or something?”

  “That must be it,” I say with a laugh, but I’m serious.

  He smiles and tucks a strand of my hair behind my ear. “You should probably sort that out before we go out.” His light eyes are intense.

  Nordstrom nudges me and asks, “Are you ready to go, Meg?”

  It throws me off because in reality that is all I want to do. Leave with him. Be alone with him. Give myself to him over and over again. But I recover quickly. “You can go. I came with the girls. It’s our night to get to know each other before classes start.”

  An absolutely cocky smile ghosts on his face as he says, “Girls, Daniel Nackerson, Jake Gorboni, Tom Fallston, and I have a great table in the VIP section with much better service. What do you say we take this party up there?”

  They betray me quickly by standing and downing their drinks. Then, they glare at me as if I’m slowing them down. I turn to Lund and he’s already backing away. He points a finger at me and says, “You’ve got my number. Give me a call when you sort it out.” Then, he sits in Trina’s chair as his friends take over the other vacated seats. I follow the group to the guard at the VIP section. The girls each get their own gold band and Nikki acts as if she is gaining entrance to the pearly gates of heaven. She doesn’t realize the VIP area is a cornucopia filled with temptations that damn you to hell.

  Chapter 31

  Liam

  THE SMILE ON Nak’s face when he sees Meg is priceless. He knows how much finding her means to me. It’s even better than finding out what Sarah knows. The only reason I was able to force myself to the club tonight was because I knew tomorrow I would get more clues into the complex mind of Megan Billings from one of her best friends. Sarah invited me over for dinner tomorrow, but seeing Meg tonight is definitely better, more telling. She is still attracted to me. It is so obvious. The way her pulse on her neck speeds when I touch her, how her breath hitches when I look into her eyes, and the way her body melts into mine—all prove I own her. I hate that she has the power to make me doubt myself. It has never happened before in my life. I’ve never been so hung up on a girl.

  “Megan. How have you been, babe?” Gorboni booms as we reach the table. He turns to Fallston and says, “Don’t ever play strip poker with this girl. She is the luckiest S.O.B. We were at Williams’ once and I was doing all I could to cheat and she still beat me.”

  “I count cards, Jake,” Meg says as if it should be obvious. “And I didn’t win. I went to bed before I lost my shirt.”

  “My shirt,” I correct. She was wearing my shirt. The thought makes me smile.

  “You count cards?” asks Fallston. “You should come to Vegas on Wednesday with Jake and me.”

  I don’t like the way his eyes sweep over her body. I wrap my arm around her, splaying my hand across her stomach to claim her, and motion for the girls to file in onto the couch next to Fallston. They look completely lost for words. I hope this wasn’t a mistake. It won’t be if I get some alone time with Meg. I lead her to the other end of the couch by Nak. I trust him.

  “My classes start on Wednesday, but maybe some other time,” says Meg.

  What the hell is her problem? “Don’t encourage him,” I whisper. I need to get her alone. It’s too easy for her to deny us with all these people here.

  Our server appears and I lean into her asking her if the private room is available.

  She nods, then disappears to the bar for a minute and returns, discreetly handing me the key card. I’ve never used it before. I know guys who have and I know it will cost me. I don’t even know how much, but I am desperate and this might be my only chance.

  “We have to talk, Meg. Alone.” I stand up and offer her my hand. She looks at me questioningly. “Meg and I need to talk. We won’t be long,” I say to the group to force her hand.

  She stands, looks to her friends, and then back to me. Her eyebrows are knit in concern, but she follows me anyway. I tap the card against the plate on the wall and the door pops open. I open it wide and it is just as Fallston described it. A floor-to-ceiling window into the club covers one wall. The window vibrates to the beat of the music. The room smells of lemon and smoked wood, and the lighting is soft and romantic. A dark, wooden, just-the-right-height-for-fucking bar sits to the right of the window. It seems out of place with all the glass and metal of the club, but somehow makes the room feel warmer and more comfortable. What I wouldn�
��t give to use this room to its full potential with Meg.

  She stops a couple of feet inside the door.

  “I can’t be in here with you. I have to go,” she whispers. I don’t believe that’s what she wants, but something is stopping her with me. I’m not going to force her into something she doesn’t want.

  “We will just talk. I promise.” I take her hand and lead her toward the bar. When we reach it, I grasp her hips and lift her onto it. I don’t want her bolting out of the room until we’ve talked. Jumping down with those heels would be a challenge and should slow her down just a little. Her breath catches as I set her down. My hand automatically slides to the back of her neck because I know it makes her vulnerable and right now, I need all the leverage I can get. She holds all the cards. I stare into her eyes hoping to read some unspoken message. Her bottom lip pulls in and it takes everything I have not to suck it back out with my mouth on hers.

  We stay silent for several minutes, just staring at each other. Then Meg speaks. “What do you want from me, Nordstrom?”

  “Everything,” I say and I am not lying. I want everything with her. I don’t know how I could have made it clearer.

  “I don’t know what that means.”

  “It means all we talked about on the island. It means we’ll date only each other. It means we’ll be together and not block each other’s calls.”

  “It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?”

  “I’m still open for it. I can get past what happened in the last month, if you can,” I say hoping maybe she will share why she stopped taking my calls after the island.

  “Well, I’m not. You think I’m just here for you to play with, a toy. I’m not your toy. You have no claim on me. I can’t do this with you, Liam. If you want to be friends, we can be friends, but I can’t let us be more than that. I’m not going to sleep with you again,” Meg says. She looks down at her sandals, avoiding eye contact.

  I step back and crouch down, imposing my face in her view. “I am not toying with you.”

  “You are if you think I can forget about what happened after we left the island.”