by J. Daniels
“Okay,” I started when I was finished processing. “But I’m still not seeing what that has to do with me.”
“You’re there? I’m gonna be less inclined to spend a night in jail, considerin’ that option leaves you alone for them to feed on next,” he explained.
I blinked at him.
Oh.
Huh.
I wasn’t quite sure how to respond to that, or how to feel hearing it. I mean, it was kind of sweet and protective, him wanting to get to his sister and also his strange reasoning for including me in this plan, and Jamie wasn’t those things.
I was sure of it.
So I said the only thing I could think of in that moment without acknowledging other feelings.
“Jail’s bad,” I whispered.
Jamie’s eyes flickered wider after I spoke. His brows lifted. Then his mouth started twitching.
My mouth started twitching, too. I couldn’t explain that, but I let it happen.
“Get your keys,” he ordered. “We’re takin’ your car.”
Chapter Six
JAMIE
Legs was glaring at me.
My eyes were on the road, but I could feel that glare aimed directly at my profile, and although I hadn’t looked to confirm, I knew she was giving me her best shit and putting everything she had into that glare.
She was pissed. Maybe more pissed than usual, if that was even possible.
This was because instead of arguing with her over who was driving us to pick up my sister—an argument she was pushing for by not handing over the keys to her Volvo when we stepped outside and handing over her attitude instead, doing this while keeping the keys held behind her back—I charged at her and picked her ass up, locking her arms behind her so she couldn’t fight me and leaving her vulnerable. Then I opened her hand with one of mine and pried the keys easily away from her while she ran off at the mouth.
That was the first thing that set her off.
After getting what I wanted, I carried her squirming body over to the passenger side of the car, not trusting her to get there herself anymore considering what all had just gone down and her reaction to it, swung the door open while keeping hold of her with one arm, and then deposited her into the seat, where she was currently sulking.
I was pretty certain that sequence of events pushed her over the edge.
That was ten minutes ago.
Now she was giving me the silent treatment while most likely plotting my death.
I didn’t give a shit about the death plotting, but the silent treatment was starting to piss me off. I’d tried initiating conversation three times now and each time was met with nothing.
“You wanna listen to somethin’?” I’d asked, adjusting the volume on the radio and filling the car with some whiny chick shit I didn’t recognize but knew I could handle about five seconds of before tuning it to something else.
Turned out, I wouldn’t need the five seconds.
Tori didn’t answer me. Instead, she crossed her arms under her chest and stared out the window. I cut the radio off.
“Goin’ to Hammerjacks. That’s where Quinn is. You ever been?”
I turned my head when I was greeted with silence and watched Tori cross her one leg over the other and start toeing the air with vigor and deep concentration, like she was harnessing all her energy into that one movement so she wouldn’t lunge out of her seat and attack me.
I ignored her fit and looked back to the road.
“I’m in the mood to watch a movie while we eat. You feelin’ that?”
This final question came after waiting a couple of minutes to see if she’d cooled off enough to have a conversation with me.
She hadn’t.
Legs ignored me for a third time. This was when the glaring started.
We were almost at our destination and there was no way in hell I was letting her keep this bullshit up and carry over back at her place.
I’d had enough.
“You gonna speak to me the rest of the night, or are you just gonna continue actin’ pissy?” I asked, cutting her a hard look.
Tori narrowed her gaze further. That was all she was giving up.
“Babe, get the fuck over it,” I ordered, watching her eyes flicker wider. I put my attention back on the road. “If we’re goin’ someplace together, I’m drivin’. Don’t matter whose car it is. We got someplace to go? I’ll get us there. So quit with the attitude and just enjoy my fuckin’ company. It ain’t like I took your ride and left you back at the house. Straight up, though, kinda wishing I would’ve just done that.”
Her silent treatment was seriously getting to me. I didn’t like it. Legs typically had a lot to say when she was in a mood, and that was the way I preferred her.
“Okay, first of all,” she began, voice cutting sharp with edge.
I felt my mouth twitch. Fuck yeah. There you are.
“Don’t tell me what to do, Jamie. If I wanna sit here and act pissy about the way I was just manhandled, I’m in my right to do that. You stole my keys and then put me in the car like some child.”
“You tellin’ me you would’ve gotten in yourself had I waited you out?” I questioned, already knowing the answer to that one. I glanced over again and watched Tori press her lips together. “Yeah. Didn’t think so,” I said, turning away.
“I probably would’ve gotten in eventually, considering I wouldn’t want you taking my car anywhere without me, but I wasn’t given a choice, was I?”
“On a bit of a time crunch here, Legs,” I reminded her.
She sighed, no doubt realizing I was right in rushing her and hating that fact.
I watched her turn away. “Keep goin’,” I prompted.
She looked at me again. A crease in her brow was forming. “Excuse me?”
“You said ‘first of all,’ like you had more than one point to make,” I said, putting my eyes back on the road. “Go ahead and make it.”
Tori let out a quiet laugh. “You’re not gonna like point two,” she warned.
“Comes outta your mouth, there’s a good chance I’m gonna like it no matter what it is.”
That was unfortunately the truth. Never in my life had I enjoyed getting lip from a woman before. But with Legs? I couldn’t seem to get enough.
The madder she got, the harder I got.
Those two things went hand in hand.
“Fine.” She twisted in her seat and angled her body toward me. “I was going to say this was a one-time thing and that we will never have places to go together, meaning you’ll never be driving us anywhere ever again, and the fact that you’re implying differently as if this is going to become a habit is ridiculous. I don’t even like you. That was my second point.”
“You like me,” I argued.
“Really, I don’t.”
“Really, babe, you do.”
“Seriously, Jamie, I’m being honest.”
“You’ll start bein’ honest when you admit to liking me,” I told her, turning into the parking lot surrounding Hammerjacks and searching for a spot. “Right now, you ain’t bein’ honest. You’re bein’ in denial. Don’t wanna feel certain things, so you’re just blocking them out and lyin’ to yourself and anyone who asks you. Lyin’ to me most of all ’cause you don’t want me knowin’ how you truly feel about me. But I already know, Legs, so we can go ahead and move past this if you’re finished wastin’ both of our times. And straight up, bet aside, you admit to liking me and I won’t act like a dick about it. So if that’s your worry, you can get the fuck over that, too. Swear it. It won’t go down like that.”
I wasn’t sure if that was one of her reasons for circling this issue the way she was doing, but I felt the need to clear the air, just in case it was.
Honestly? I didn’t know what her deal was. Only thing I knew for certain was that Tori was lying and covering that lie with layers of bullshit I was gonna have to wade through to get to what I wanted.
I pulled us into a spot along the side of the
building, threw the gear into Park, and turned to look at her.
She wasn’t glaring at me anymore and her foot wasn’t swinging in edginess, but her arms were still crossed.
“You really don’t believe me when I say I don’t like you?” she asked, her blue eyes daring me to say differently. She leaned forward, declaring, “Well, I really don’t believe you when you say, ‘Swear it.’ I don’t believe a lot of things you say, Jamie. I don’t trust you.”
“Said it before and made good on it,” I reminded her, speaking of earlier down at the beach.
“You would’ve said anything to get me to climb on you the way I did.”
“Probably,” I replied. My lip curled up.
Hers grew tight.
“Tell me the truth,” I said, throwing my arm up on the wheel and facing her fully. “Test me. Go ahead.”
She sat back in her seat and tilted her head, staring at me across the small space, as if she was waiting for something and not keeping responses to herself.
I didn’t understand that look. I was the one expecting. Not her.
“Waitin’, Legs,” I probed.
“I already told you,” she shot back, holding my gaze steady.
I cocked an eyebrow. “Gave me a lie. Where’s your truth?” I asked.
Tori unbuckled her seat belt, then she looked away and reached for the handle on the door. “I gave you both,” she said quietly, pushing it open and stepping out.
The door shut behind her.
She gave me both?
What the fuck? When?
Only thing I heard was a bunch of lying from her, meaning she didn’t give me both. Tori gave me what she was always giving me. Bullshit. I was still waiting on a truth.
Jesus.
I shook my head.
Wanting this girl was the biggest fucking headache of my life. If it weren’t for the glimpses I’d gotten of what she was hiding underneath, I wouldn’t think it was worth it.
I turned off the car and stepped out, tucking the keys into the pocket of my shorts after locking up. I met Tori up on the pavement.
“Let me do all the talkin’ in here,” I told her. “Just stay with me. Don’t go wanderin’ off.”
Last thing I needed was her disappearing on me.
She rolled her eyes and started walking toward the door, leaving me standing where I was.
Jesus. Here we fucking go.
“Legs, swear to God, if I have to go lookin’ for you, we’re gonna have a problem,” I warned at her back. My longs strides got me to her quickly, and when I reached her side, I added, “Pissed me off enough today. Don’t push it.”
Tori let out a dry laugh. “I’ll be doing all the talking in here. Trust me. That’s how this is going to work,” she said, finality in her voice. She stopped in front of the door and reached for the handle.
She was doing all the talking? That’s how this was going to work?
I slammed my hand on the door and prevented her from entering.
“Say again?” I growled, meeting her eyes when she stopped pulling and whipped her head around to hit me with attitude.
“What?” she asked, looking confused. “That’s the plan.”
“That ain’t the plan,” I assured her. “I’m talking. You’re standing there, not wanderin’ off. That’s the plan.”
“Didn’t you say your sister isn’t into boys?”
“Yeah.”
Tori stared up at me. She grabbed on to her hips and cocked her head to the side, lifting her brows expectantly.
“What about it?” I asked when she wouldn’t elaborate or give me anything else besides looks and sass.
“She isn’t into boys,” Tori stated again.
My jaw clenched. I was losing patience. “We covered that,” I bit out.
“Boys are currently hitting on her and not taking the hint that she isn’t interested.”
“Why we’re here, babe. You feelin’ like sharin’ somethin’ I don’t know?”
Tori smiled big. “That’s where I come in.”
“What is?”
“Them not taking the hint.”
I lowered my hand from the door and stood taller. “Not following you,” I shared.
“I’m the hint,” she said.
My eyebrows rose. I was understanding her meaning now.
Couldn’t fucking believe it, but I was understanding it.
“No shit,” I murmured, feeling appreciation for what she was willing to do.
“Oh, and just so you know, while I’m handling this, if you wander off, I will not go looking for you,” Tori added. “Keep that in mind.”
I smirked hearing that, saying, “Another lie. You’re rackin’ them up today, Legs.”
“Not lying,” she pledged. “Please, test me on it, because I would love to leave you here, Jamie. Nothing would bring me more pleasure.”
“I’d rather keep close, considerin’ those fuckin’ pants you’re wearing.”
My eyes lowered. I started staring at everything she had going on from the waist down.
Fuck.
Her pants were like a second skin. Highlighting her toned legs perfectly and showing their shape.
Sex pants.
Probably purchased them at the same time as that fucking bikini.
I lifted my eyes and watched Tori blink hers rapidly before looking down at herself. “I’m wearing leggings,” she stated, face pinching tight with confusion when she lifted her head again.
She wasn’t understanding why I was digging what she had on.
I stuck my hands into my pockets and shrugged. “Just like the uniform, Legs. On anybody else? Those pants aren’t sexy. Probably wouldn’t catch my attention unless the chick wearin’ them was takin’ them off. On you? Different story. That combination makes my dick hard.”
Her eyes went round.
I smirked, liking her reaction to hearing that, and told her, “I got proof to back up my argument if you’re wantin’ to see it.”
Wide-eyed and blushing hot, Tori spun around, yanked the door open, and rushed inside.
I followed behind, laughing. Shit was too easy sometimes.
Hammerjacks was dimly lit and packed with bodies, some dancing together and others crowding the bar, waiting to get served. I started scanning the room as I came up beside Tori, who was doing the same even though she had no idea who she was looking for.
I saw Quinn almost instantly. She wasn’t hard to spot.
The bright pink spiked-out hair helped with that.
“There,” I said, pointing in the direction of the bar where my sister was sitting on a stool, head turned away from the group of shitheads swarming her.
She was alone. That pissed me off.
She was here, in town visiting, and she was looking for ass. That pissed me off, too.
Not much I could do about the second thing, I understood it, but she was gonna hear my feelings toward the other whether she wanted to hear them or not.
“What’s her name again?” Tori asked as we made our way over.
“Quinn,” I said.
She nodded, face serious. Then she tucked stray pieces of hair behind her ears and smoothed out the rest of her pony, pulled one sleeve of her shirt down so it exposed her shoulder and bra strap, straightened her spine, tipped her chin up, and put on a smile before rushing ahead.
“Hey, sweetie. Sorry I’m late,” Tori chirped, squeezing in between my sister and the shitheads as if they weren’t standing there. She grabbed Quinn’s face, bent down, and kissed her cheek. “I missed you. Did you miss me?” she asked, bringing both hands to Quinn’s neck and holding there while standing between her bent knees.
Tori was smiling and playing the part, leaning close and making it seem like they were really together, or at least really feeling each other.
My sister was blinking up at Tori, looking baffled but also looking like she was wanting to buy everything Legs was selling.
I wasn’t surprised. Quinn shared my taste in w
omen. And I definitely had a taste for Legs.
“Whoa, are you two…damn. Is this your girl?” one of the shitheads asked from behind Tori, pointing at the back of her.
“Jesus,” another one chimed in, looking his fill. “What are the chances of me watchin’ you two go at it? This is fuckin’ hot.”
I stepped up then, not liking the tone of this guy and the shit coming out of his mouth, and wanting to make my presence known.
He saw me approach and shot me a hard look, asking, “You gotta problem?”
“Jamie.”
Teeth clenched and fists forming, I looked to Quinn, not taking the bait he was throwing out.
She was watching me, eyes serious and mouth tight, subtly shaking her head in warning ’cause she knew I couldn’t be fighting or doing anything that could draw negative attention. Then she turned her attention onto Tori when she twisted and slid into Quinn’s lap.
“Fishing in the wrong pond, boys,” Tori informed them, sweeping her gaze over the three while putting her arm around Quinn’s shoulders and pressing close. “Get lost. We’re not interested.” Then she turned all of her attention onto my sister and amped up her game, giggling as she kept her face close to hers and running her fingers through her hair, smiling, whispering, really flirting and looking into it, all while blocking the view of the shitheads so they couldn’t watch.
And everything Legs was doing, my sister was eating up.
Wrapping her arms around Tori and holding on to her, smiling back, laughing, looking like she was falling in love and thinking this was real and something sustainable.
I was starting to regret incorporating Tori into this plan. She was a little too good at her game. Straight up. Maybe the best at it.
I was also starting to get mildly jealous watching my sister getting attention from the one woman who was hell-bent on ignoring my ass.
“Man, whatever,” the one guy said, grabbing his beer and looking to his friends. “Come on. I’m not wastin’ my time on lesbian pussy.”
His friends murmured their agreement, mentioned something about hitting up Roy’s, a bar down the street, then grabbed their beers and stepped away.
When they were out of earshot, I shifted my eyes to Legs, telling her, “Think you sold it. You can get off my sister now.”