by K. I. Lynn
I let out a groan. “Fuck.”
By the time I get home, it’ll be almost seven, giving me two or three hours max. Maybe I’ll shower and crash at the station and go from there. But I won’t be the only one as Bishop and Jenkins also agreed to help. The rest of the guys had the night off.
Everly hasn’t called or texted, and I sure as shit haven’t reached out to her. My luck to finally meet someone, pursue her, and it blows up spectacularly in my face.
What I’m not looking forward to is seeing her. Not after her lies. I’m still pissed about that fucked-up dinner two weeks ago.
The only thing that hasn’t changed is that she’s still the chick I jack off to daily. Today is going to be interesting.
SIX HOURS LATER, I’M carrying a box labeled “Kitchen” into Everly’s house and set it down on the counter. She found a nice place, and I can only guess how much it cost. Probably double my place, and worth every penny from what I’ve seen.
Due to the fire, and half the day’s volunteers taking the call, we started with the unloading a few hours later than scheduled.
“Want a beer?” Cam asks as he heads toward the fridge.
“Nah, man, I’m still beat from last night. I don’t need anything to relax me, or I’m gonna fall asleep on the floor.”
“A Coke, then. I think I saw some earlier.”
“Nah. Just water for me.”
“You still on that bullshit about Coke taking inches off your dick?”
I look at Cam and smirk. I don’t think it does, but I like screwing with him so I keep it up. “It’s true. Keep drinking that crap, and you’ll see when your dick starts shrinking.”
“Where the fuck did you hear that stupid shit. I drink Coke all the time.”
“Exactly! And you’ve probably got a small dick. Now we know why you can’t keep up with the ladies.”
“Fuck you, Niko! My dick is just fine, and I keep up with the ladies without any problem at all.” Cam swings the fridge open and pulls out water for me. I watch him grab a Coke, but he looks down at his pants then grabs water for himself, bypassing the Coke he wanted to drink.
I turn my head trying not to laugh when he comes back and puts the water in front of me.
“Speaking of the ladies . . . I’m not the one who’s on a pussy strike. After one chick decided to give you a taste of your own medicine, you’ve decided the world is ending.”
Jake walks in right as Cam is running his mouth. I see the laugh he’s trying to hold in, but he doesn’t say anything. Whatever.
Yeah. Everly gave me a little more than my own medicine. Cameron’s devil sibling did something I’d never do to anyone, and it stings. Especially with her nonchalance over the whole thing.
“Yeah, whatever. I’m not on strike. I’ve just been busy and distracted. I’ve got things on my mind.” Distracted and pissed is more like it, but he doesn’t need to know that.
“Busy and distracted with what? Jacking off to the memory of the girl that fucked your head up?”
“No. Just stuff. My stuff has nothing to do with her or any woman, so just mind your own business.” I wish he’d shut up about this. The last thing I need is for his sister to overhear this shit and pump her head up with things. “God, you’re an asshole. Just get moving so we can get this done today, would ya?” I don’t think I can handle Cam’s typical ball-busting today. Not while we are in his sister’s new house and she’s in the next room.
“Yeah, sure. You’ve been distracted by one chick. Stop denying it. You’re pussy whipped. One night, and this chick has your head all over the place. Stop fixating on her, man. You were probably one of many. Just get over it and let’s get you back to being Niko again. You’re boring as shit lately.”
If he only knew what he was talking about right now. I know he’d eat his damn words if he knew the woman he’s referring to is his sister.
I’ve stayed away from any invites Cam has tossed out at me to have dinner with him and Everly since finding out she and Alyson were one in the same. Not only did she lie about who she was, but she apparently doesn’t see much of a problem with what she did. At least that’s how I see it.
The night I finally found out while at dinner with Cam was enough interaction for me for a lifetime. I tried hard to pick up one of the guys’ shifts at the firehouse to get out of being here today. I’d promised to help move all Everly’s stuff from storage to her new house, but no one wanted to switch shifts with the late notice, so here I am, stuck in front of a few of my friends from work as well as Cam and his sister that I banged without knowing who she was.
As mad as I am, seeing her this morning and having her act as if nothing ever happened between us both calmed and enraged me. I finally just gave up and decided to let the rage go, leave my friendship in the green zone and forget it ever happened. Everly has been different today than she was when we all had dinner.
She even thanked me for coming out to help on my day off, and it was sincere. Of course, she thanked the other guys too, but she didn’t single them each out to do it as she did me. Being this close to her is screwing with my head again, and I don’t want that. She walks in and out of the room that Cam, the guys, and I are in taking a break, and I can’t help but watch her, the way her hips sway in the yoga pants she’s currently wearing. I try and look away before she notices, but she’s caught me twice now, and I’ve gotten nothing. No smirk, no smile, no blush, nothing. It’s like she knows she’s fucking with me.
Bitch.
“Hey, Niko! Like my shirt?” the rookie of our crew, but still one of my brothers from the firehouse, Jake Bishop, says while placing one of Everly’s boxes down on the kitchen counter. I barely glance at him until he walks backward to give me a more unobstructed view of the shirt he’s wearing.
“What the fuck?” I look over at him, and my fucking eyes feel like they’ve just popped out of my head. Printed on the plain white T is a photo of the note. Everly’s Post-it note.
“Cam gave it to me this morning. Said to make sure I wore it for you today,” he says while failing to suppress a laugh.
Fucking Cameron.
“Did he, now?” I push my chair back and stand up with the intentions of finding my best fucking friend when he walks into the kitchen with his fucking sister. His sister that fucked me ten ways to Sunday, and left a Post-it on my fucking cock before leaving without a word. Without telling me who she was. Great. Just add to my humiliation some more. This has got to be payback for something I did in my life.
Then it dawns on me that this could work in my favor even if it’s making me feel like an asshole at the same time, but screw it. She’s the one who lied. The one that didn’t tell me who she was. I would never have crossed that line and risked my friendship with Cam. Now the can has been opened, and turnabout is fair fucking play!
“Hey, Cameron. Jake here was just showing me the T-shirt you gave him. Got one for me too?”
Both Cam and Ev stop talking and look over at Jake’s T-shirt. I watch Everly’s smile drop, and the color slowly fades from her face before she swings her gaze to me. Fuck her. I didn’t do this, but let’s see what she’s going to do now. I raise my brow at her. Waiting for her next move. Daring her to ask or acknowledge that she’s the person who wrote the Post-it note that her brother obviously saw at my apartment, took a snapshot of and somehow turned the goddamn thing into the T-shirt that not only Jake is wearing, but the rest of the guys are too.
Cameron starts cracking up, holding his T-shirt up to reveal his homemade Post-it shirt underneath, then falls over clutching his stomach and falling into fits of laughter while reaching for the chair I just pushed away from the table. Asshole.
“Look familiar, Niko?” Cam says when he catches his breath, a shit-eating grin that I want to punch right now spreading across his face.
“You went out and paid money to have shirts made with a note left for me by a girl I fucked?” He’s taking this a little too far. He says nothing, just wears that stupid sm
irky smile on his face. “Who the fuck does that?” I say, completely dumbfounded at the lengths my so-called friend would take to bust my balls.
“Cam would,” Jake responded, “Pretty sure he’s trying to deflect so that whoever keeps leaving the dominatrix shit in his locker will start fucking with you instead.” This causes the rest of them to crack up.
“Fuck off! All of you can kiss my ass!” Cam replies, his laughter fading, sounding like a petulant child with a dirty mouth. It doesn’t matter what he does; they are never letting him live that shit down.
“What’s the story behind this, or do I want to know?” Everly asks. Her color still hasn’t returned, but she’s playing it off, not a single hitch in her voice.
Jake shrugs. “Apparently some chick left Callahan in the dust, from what I heard.”
“I didn’t finish telling you where she left it though, Bishop,” Cam says through tears as his laughter picks up again. Jake looks amused, but curious now. This is bullshit. I will never hear the end of this shit.
“Where did she leave it?” Bishop asks, but it’s not Cam that answers.
I’m so going to junk punch the fucker.
“Right on Callahan Jr.,” Jenkins pops in.
“Thanks a lot, asshole,” I say to Cam. “Did you have to tell everyone?”
Cam’s almost rolling on the floor. “Priceless. Fucking priceless! She fucked you and thanked your cock.”
Everyone’s attention is on Cam, giving me a quick second to shoot her a glare. It was all her fault in the first place. If she’d just told me who she was, but fuck, I would have missed out on the best night I’ve ever had. I’m still pissed at her, but as mad as I am, I want her just as much. There seems to be a small bit of remorse as she looks back at me.
“Bro, you got cocktagged,” Jenkins says with a smirk.
I shake my head and pinch the bridge of my nose. “Cocktagged is when someone tags your shit on Facebook, and it wasn’t fucking posted on Facebook.” Fucking Cameron!
“No, brother, this chick real life cocktagged you! Like . . . is it real, or is it Memorex?” They all start laughing, and all I can do is glare at her.
Motherfucker.
“So, what’s up for later tonight, Hayes?” Jenkins asks, and I’m happy for the change of subject. “Club? Pub? I’m off for the next two days, and I have nothing to do. Damn sure don’t want to sit around watching reruns of Orange is the New Black on Netflix. You game?”
“Nah, I’m working actually. Grabbed an extra shift down on D-Street,” Cam says, and I ignore the talk of work and clubbing.
I see Everly from the corner of my eye, and I try to keep looking busy so that she doesn’t notice that I’m watching her every fucking move. Fuck, this woman has me all kinds of fucked up.
“The only person that’s in need of a club night is our boy Niko here. The boy is pussy whipped,” Cam says, breaking me from my Everly-induced haze.
“Far from whipped, but whatever, Cam. I’ve snapped out of it. Matter of fact, I might have a date tonight, so let’s get this fucking show on the road so I can go home and crash,” I lie, but he doesn’t need to know that. I notice Everly had stopped unpacking the box she was working on when she heard me mention that I had a date. Could she be bothered? I fucking hope so. Would serve her right after all this shit.
“You still have a ton of books,” I say as I lug the tenth box into her living room. It’s a good thing she chose a place with built-in bookcases.
She shrugs. “I like to read; is that a problem?”
“Nope. Just an observation. Just wondered if any of the old Everly still existed,” I say, staring right at her.
“Ha! This isn’t shit. You should see her shelves at my parents’,” Cam says, oblivious to the meaning behind my statement to his sister.
“Cameron!”
“What?” he asks, halfway opening one of the boxes.
“Stop,” Everly says, her eyes wide.
“Stop what?” he asks. He’s been helping her to unpack a lot of the boxes as we bring them in.
“Just . . . leave that box, I’ll get it.”
Cameron’s lip twitches up into a smirk, his eyes moving to slits, drawing me closer. I’m his best friend; I know he’s about to let something slip.
“What is it, sis? Don’t want anyone seeing your collection of bodice rippers? Or have you upgraded to some Fifty Shades of kinky shit?”
Everly’s face lights up, a shade of pink that piques my body’s interest. Fucking cock likes the embarrassed demeanor flooding her. It’s different from the woman I spent the night with and more like the Everly I remember from my teenage years. She’s flustered, pushing Cam over in an attempt to get the box away from him, but she’s physically no match for him.
This small interaction brings back memories, makes me see her as still the shy, nerdy girl and not the cold woman who duped me. Those hazel eyes glance at me, making my dick fucking twitch. It’s an innocent look, wide eyes and lips parted, which only confuses me more. Her fucking Jekyll and Hyde personality gives me whiplash. Which one is the real Everly? Because right now all I can think of is the innocent version on her knees in front of me, biting her lip as she works my dick.
“Callahan!” Jake calls, breaking me away from my fantasy.
I lock eyes with Everly, whose gaze flashes down to my crotch, before turning to where my name was called.
“Yo!” I turn to find Jake and Jenkins struggling to get a dresser through the front door and run to help them.
Grabbing onto one end, I lift while Jake moves back to Jenkins to help lift. The dresser is solid wood and weighs a ton, making me wonder if the drawers are even empty.
“Where do you want this, Everly?” I ask, drawing her attention.
Her eyes lock on me, mouth open to respond, but nothing comes out. “T-that goes upstairs, in the spare bedroom.”
It doesn’t go unnoticed how she’s staring at my body, the way my muscles are flexed. At least to me. I don’t think anybody else is paying attention.
It seems she’s not as immune as she thinks.
“THERE ARE ONLY FOUR or five more boxes, and the label on this one is impossible to read. Do you know where you want it?” my brother asks from the doorway of my new place. Cam and his friends spent a few hours helping move me in. Most of them left a few minutes ago once the beer and pizza were gone. Now only a few remain, including Cam and Niko.
Jake and Niko walk in behind Cam, both carefully placing my flat screen TV down. I turn the box in Cam’s arms and stare at the squiggly line. The movers packed up a lot of my stuff, and by the handwriting, this is one of them.
“I think it says office,” I tell Cam and turn away so I don’t stare at the bulge of Niko’s arms as he and Jake make room for my television. I hear Cam walk down the hall and try to focus on anything but the man in front of me.
“Hey, sunshine, you want me to set this up for you while we’re here? I’ve got my tools in my truck. I’m not working tonight. I’m pretty sure Niko and Cam are both scheduled to work tonight, but I’d be more than happy to stick around to give you a hand with all this,” Jake asks me, and before I can say anything, Niko replies to Jake.
“Actually, Jake, I’m not working tonight, but it’s nice of you to keep tabs on my schedule.”
I look over to where Niko just spoke, Jake standing next to him. Although Niko has his back to me, I can see that his body appears rigid, like he’s tense and ready to blow up. I don’t know what he thinks, but what happened between us was indeed a one-time thing. I also get the feeling that Niko and Jake don’t care for one another. Interesting. Niko or no Niko, if I choose to get to know Jake, or any other man for that matter, it’s my right. I’m single.
After what I’ve dealt with in the past few months, I deserve to put myself out there. Play the field, so to speak. If Aly were here, she’d be pushing me to step out of my comfort zone. I know Jake is waiting for a reply, and when I look up at him, he winks at me.
“Um, sure. That would be great. Usually Cam does all that for me, but I’m sure he’d be happy to be let off the hook.” I smile at him, and Jake smiles back.
“We could grab dinner too. That way I can set up your surround sound. You know, take my time. Make sure I do it right and all that.”
Of course, Niko chooses that comment to turn around and glare at Jake, but I don’t care. He needs to mind his own business.
Jake is outright flirting with me now, and I’m honestly not feeling it, but I refuse to back down or let Niko know that I’m not interested in other men, especially while he’s standing here listening. I know I shouldn’t, but I want to push this. I want to see his reactions. See what Niko thinks.
“Sounds like a plan. Do you like Thai food?” I ask, grabbing my cell from the table.
“I love Thai. Whatever you get works for me. I’m not a picky man.”
I smile and then press the home button on my iPhone. “Hey Siri, find me a number for Thai food that delivers near me.”
“Why are you looking for Thai? We just had like twenty pizzas, Ev,” Cam says as he walks back into the room. Niko crosses his arms and smiles over at me before opening his big mouth, and I want to throw something at his smug face.
“Well, Sunshine here is planning on eating dinner with good old Bishop tonight while he helps her set up her surround sound and flat screen. Weren’t you doing that for her, Cam? That’s dirty of you to pass the job off on poor Jake here.”
“Sunshine? Who the hell is Sunshine?” Cam looks over at Jake and then to Niko, confusion written all over his face. Niko, the asshole that he is, moves his head toward me. Cam’s eyes light up as he swings his head toward Jake. I watch as his eyes narrow once it clicks for him. “Like hell he is! That’s my sister. My little sister.” He drags the word little out like we are all in special ed or something.
Really? And of course, Niko turns his head away, but not before I catch his smirk. Real mature, Nikolas.
“Well, your little sister isn’t so little, Hayes, or have you not noticed that we’re all here today helping her move into her own place?” Jake fires back, and I know this isn’t going to be good. My brother has always been protective of me, but he’s even worse now that he knows what’s going on with my ex. As much as I’d like to stick it to Niko right now, this isn’t a battle I want my brother to have with one of his firehouse buddies.