“I named him after my favorite author.”
Tiffany stood, straightening her back from the hunched-over position she was just in, and took a few steps to the side, admiring the books I had lined above the TV. Like she’d done with the aquarium, she ran her fingertip along the spines, as if she had to touch them to prove they were real.
Without saying anything else, she came to sit next to me on the couch. This was the moment I had waited for, to see what she truly thought of my humble existence. But to my disappointment, there was not even the slightest hint of disapproval on her face. Instead, she took a sip of her soda and continued to admire the aquarium from her seat.
“That’s a really cool setup. Did you make it yourself?”
It was my turn to regard the home I’d created for Terry. “Yeah, I got the idea from the comic fantasy series,” I said, pointing to the paperbacks that lined the shelf. “They take place in this fictional world that sits on the back of four elephants who stand on the back of a giant turtle.”
She stared in awe at the four elephant statues positioned between the four corners of the tank and the intricately carved sea turtle. Granted, I had it all on top of a table, but I didn’t have much of an option for that, other than putting the tank on the floor. Which I wouldn’t do for several reasons, the most important being that Terry deserved more than that.
“That’s really cool.” She stared in awe for several more seconds before turning her attention to the still picture on the TV screen—the movie was still paused from when she’d knocked on my door.
“What were you watching?” she asked without once turning my way.
“Crocodile Dundee.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open. “I love this movie! Is it the first one?”
I paused for a moment, waiting until she looked my way before responding. “Yeah, would you like to stay and finish watching it with me?”
Her smile slowly took over her face, and it was the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen. “I’d love to.”
I pressed the play button on the remote, but I didn’t pay any attention to the rest of the film. I couldn’t concentrate on it, too busy pondering how this woman next to me could’ve gone from such a hateful individual to someone so likable in only one month.
It was apparent that there was more to her than meets the eye.
5
Tasha
It’d felt like a hundred years since I last saw Dave.
It’d only been a week, but that wasn’t the point. The point was, I’d missed him dearly…until he came to stay with me. It took one day for me to remember just how ridiculous he could be.
“I’m not going anywhere, Dave. Give it a rest.”
He stood in front of me with his arms crossed, completely blocking my view of the TV behind him. This was his go-to move when he wanted to get his way. Heaven forbid I ever stood in front of the TV while he was playing a video game. That’d be the end of our friendship.
“Dave! Come on!” I was two seconds away from throwing the remote at him.
“Do you really expect me to hang out in your sister’s house for an entire week?”
“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do.” I was an idiot if I thought I’d be able to get out of this without an actual conversation. “I’m supposed to be Tiffany. What do you want me to do? Do you honestly think I’ll be able to walk around town with you and not raise any red flags?”
He crossed his arms, proving my point and forcing me to toss the controller to the side. “Then at least introduce me to Mr. Hot Bod from next door. Anything to get me out of this hellhole. Every time I turn around, I’m reminded of your evil sister. I’m having serious flashbacks from The Shining.”
“You’re here for a week…I have to spend at least two months in this ‘hellhole.’ So I don’t want to hear you complain. And no, I’m not introducing you to Jacoby. The last thing I want to do is scare off the only good thing about being here.” I shooed him out of the way and reclaimed the controller.
“Whatever, Tosh,” he mumbled as he exited the room. Where he was off to, I had no clue. All I cared about was that he was no longer blocking the screen, which meant I could continue to play in peace.
Unfortunately, that didn’t last long.
Ten or so minutes later, Dave came strolling in through the French doors that led out to the patio. Which was odd, considering he hadn’t left that way. In fact, he hadn’t even gone outside as far as I was aware. So basically, he’d snuck out the front.
“Hey, Tiff…” His voice was much too high; something was up. “You’ll never guess who I ran into while I was outside.”
Just then, Jacoby strolled in behind my soon-to-be ex-best friend.
“How crazy is that? Say, Dave…what were ya doin’ outside?” If he could speak in a highly suspicious tone, then so could I.
We both blinked at each other for a moment before he said, “Oh, you know, doing outdoorsy things.”
I pushed my glasses higher on my nose. “Like what?” We both knew he’d never done anything outdoorsy in his entire life.
His blinking slowed and became more dramatic, as if trying to warn me without anyone else knowing. “Stuff,” he muttered and then quickly mouthed, “Stop it.” Dave turned to the side and sweetly smiled at my neighbor.
I could tell that Jacoby wasn’t fooled, not for a second. He seemed to be on the verge of losing his grip, milliseconds away from hysterical laughter. I, on the other hand, didn’t find the same humor he did. “Hey, Dave…mind if I have a word with you in the kitchen?”
“It’s okay, Tiffany,” Jacoby said with humor flooding his tone. “I can go.”
“That’s not necessary.” I stood and held out my hand toward the couch to gesture for Jacoby to take a seat. “It’ll only be a second, I promise. While I’m there, though, would you like something to drink?”
“Uh, sure. Surprise me.”
I shoved Dave toward the kitchen. If he thought he’d get away with this unscathed, he was a moron. “What in the crap is wrong with you?” I whisper-shouted once we were out of earshot.
“If you don’t want him, then the least you could do is let me have a chance.”
“You think you’re his type?”
“Only one way to find out, isn’t there?”
I found myself questioning my own sanity for being friends with him in the first place. “You know as well as I do that he’s not interested in you. And you’re not interested in him. So what gives, Dave? Why did you drag him over here?”
He dropped his head back and huffed. “Fine…I saw him outside and thought that maybe he’d want to go grab a drink or something in town. I’ve never been here, so I just wanted to be a tourist for a day. And since you can’t leave the house, I thought I’d take my chances with the swoon-worthy Brad Pitt in there.”
I couldn’t do anything other than roll my eyes and shake my head while my best friend grabbed three cold cans of beer from the fridge. I didn’t even have the wherewithal to protest his choice of beverage. “That doesn’t explain why he’s here.”
“Oh, yeah…I guess he assumed I was inviting him over for a drink, and I was too much of a coward to correct him. Have you seen his eyes? If not, I suggest you avoid making eye contact when speaking to him. They’ll leave you without a single brain cell left in your head.”
“If this backfires, I had nothing to do with it. Let that be known now.”
He shrugged and led the way back to the living room.
Jacoby took the offered beer without complaint and pointed to the TV. “Is this The Last of Us?” he asked, referring to the video game I had paused.
“Part two, actually.”
He swung wide eyes my way, complete shock leaving his mouth gaping. “It’s not even out yet. How did you get a copy?”
It never got old.
I shrugged, trying to stave off my smirk, and said, “It’s a perk of my job.”
“What else does being a model get you?”
“Oh, lots of things.” I added a giggle, hoping he wouldn’t notice the horror in my eyes.
Jacoby cracked open his can of beer and settled into the cushion next to me. He was so close I could smell his cologne. Or maybe it was his deodorant. Either way, he smelled delicious. In fact, he smelled so good it was almost distracting.
Well, not almost. It was distracting. So much so that I hadn’t even noticed Dave leave the room. We’d resumed the game, and between trying to concentrate on what I was doing and trying not to sniff my neighbor, I hadn’t realized that we were the only two in the room until I ran out of beer.
I passed the controller to Jacoby while I headed to the kitchen for another round. While I was there, I tried calling Dave, yet he didn’t pick up—no surprise there. I wasn’t sure why he’d left the room; it wasn’t like he was doing us any favors. I mean, Jacoby was under the impression that I was Tiffany, and he was well aware of Tiffany’s engagement to Adam. So I decided to shoot him a quick text to explain.
Me: You’re an idiot. I thought you wanted to hang out with McSexy. Where’d you go?
His response was quick: I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone. I rolled my eyes and gave up. His pouty and childish voice was heard loud and clear in his message.
Jacoby offered me the remote when I returned, but I let him continue to play. There wasn’t a whole lot of talking going on, more like game-play chatter. The kinds of things you’d say even if you were alone. It was just what we gamers did, and it took another gamer to appreciate it.
After a few minutes, we’d reached one of the story scenes—the parts that helped propel the game forward while looking much like a film. I knew I should’ve been paying attention, but I couldn’t stop focusing on my deep inhales. It was the only way I could continue to get whiffs of whatever he wore without coming off like a creep.
One minute, the characters were arguing on the screen. The next, Owen, the male character, grabbed Abby’s braid, and based on the heavy breathing between the two, it was no surprise what happened next. Animated clothes were removed, then Abby was bent over a table with Owen behind her. And yeah, the creators left nothing to the imagination.
My breathing had gone from a slow, steady inhale and quick exhale to panting. Then again, I hadn’t been physical with a man in quite some time, so at least I had an excuse for reacting as though I’d just watched graphic porn. I wasn’t sure what Jacoby’s reason was. All I knew was that he needed to calm down, because his labored breathing was about to push me right over the edge.
The screen faded to black and then moved on to another scene. Meanwhile, Jacoby and I sat completely still, eyes straight ahead, beer cans to our lips. I couldn’t be sure about him, but my thighs were pressed tightly together.
“This is…uh, this is a fun game.” His words were barely audible.
In any other situation, I may have laughed, or at the very least, smiled. But I was entirely too focused on remaining in my seat and keeping my hands to myself. His cologne was now becoming too much for my one-track mind.
It was then that I realized we had somehow scooted closer to one another. I wasn’t sure when this had happened or which one of us had moved. All I knew was I could feel his sleeve brush against me, and when I turned my head to glance at our arms to see just how close we were, he turned his head, too.
I slowly lifted my gaze, catching the sight of his perfect mouth. Of course, that sight caused me to run the tip of my tongue over my bottom lip, and I couldn’t be sure, but I might’ve also moaned. Someone moaned, and for the life of me, I prayed it was on the game. But based on the way the corners of his mouth curled up, it was me.
When my eyes met his, my breathing hitched. There was just something about them that caused a physical reaction in me. They were dark green, nothing overly unique or special. They didn’t light up, shine, twinkle, or any other words that people have used to describe someone’s eye color. They were just deep-emerald orbs that took my breath away.
Then they dropped to what I assumed were my lips. That’s when my breathing really became strenuous. It was like we were trapped in this bubble while the rest of the world operated around us. Half of my brain ran through every sexual position we could do in this room while the other half was in charge of my hands, making sure they didn’t stray into his personal space.
“I, uh…” he mumbled, still staring intently at my mouth. “I think I hear my sister calling for me.”
“Yeah. You should definitely see what she wants—I mean, needs.” Regardless of what word I used, I sounded like a woman desperate for a man’s touch. Well, if the shoe fits… “I mean, you should find out what she has to say.”
At this point, I’d be lucky if the closest he came to me after this was waving to me from the other side of the gate that separated my yard from his, too scared that I’d pounce on him.
His laughter seemed to break his trance. He shook his head while pushing himself to his feet. Standing before me, he nodded once and then retreated a few steps. “Thanks for letting me play a bit of that game. Feel free to come over sometime and play something from my collection.”
Normally, this was where I’d point out that whatever he had, I’d likely already played. But that thought never came to mind. Instead, all I could think about was… Sweet child o’ mine, he just invited me ’round to his place! Granted, there was a chance he only offered to be nice, but regardless, he offered. Which meant this chapter hadn’t been closed.
“Yeah, I’ll totally do that sometime.”
I waited until he was fully outside with the door closed behind him before palming my face in deep humiliation.
Dave must’ve been around the corner—which wouldn’t surprise me, because that’s just what Dave did. Less than a minute after Jacoby left, he practically came skipping into the room. With his fist under his chin, his lips pursed in judgment, he blinked at me. “So…what were you saying about me being an idiot?”
I took a pillow from behind me and tossed it at him, frustrated that it didn’t cause him any pain. But the second I picked up the controller, he jumped into action and took it from me before I could chuck that at him as well.
“I’m never gonna make it through this,” I whined while sinking as far into the sofa as I could. “We had a…moment, I guess you could call it, and I was so close to telling him the truth so we could have sex.”
“Why would you have to tell him the truth?”
I glared at him, as if he hadn’t been paying attention to me for the last twenty-four hours that he’d been here. “Because, Dave, he thinks I’m my sister, who has a fiancé. So as far as he knows, I’m not available.”
“He’s a guy…I’m fairly certain he won’t reject you.”
I rolled my eyes, ready to completely give up on him. “You know me, which means that you know I would never look twice at a man who’d do that.”
“If it’s only to get laid, then what’s the point?”
“He’s a nice guy—from what I know of him. And now that I know he enjoys video games and beer, he just might be my only chance at having a friend while I’m here. Why would I possibly give that up?”
“Umm…for sex. Duh.”
I shook my head and closed my eyes. He was too much to deal with at the moment.
“Listen, Tosh, I’m only trying to help.”
“Newsflash, Dave: I don’t need a pimp. Well, maybe I do…but I don’t want one.”
His laughter howled around me. “That’s not what I mean. In a couple of weeks, you’re going to be followed around by a film crew, catching your every move, every word, every single expression. You may know how Tiffany Lewis acts, but let’s be real…you’re failing miserably at being her.”
“Am not.”
�
��Am too,” he argued, like we were toddlers. “If Jacoby knows anything about your sister, then I can bet you a hundred bucks that he thinks something’s up with you. Around me, around Ty, it’s okay to relax a bit. But around others, you need to start being more of a chib.”
“I get it. But maybe I don’t want to be rude to him. Like I said before, he’s my only chance of having a friend around here. Ty is great when he’s around, but he’s not always here. He’s a very busy guy. And then there’s you, who lives seven hours away. Phone calls and video chats only keep me company for so long.”
He scooted closer and placed a hand on my knee. “You’re not here to make friends, Tosh. That shouldn’t be foreign to you, considering you’re not one to make too many friends anyway.”
“Rude.” I shoved his hand away and crossed my arms over my chest defiantly. “I’m a nice person. People like me.”
“Oh, I’m not arguing that. I’m just saying that you tend to keep people on the other side of those walls you’ve built around you.”
He hadn’t said any of that to be mean or upset me. He simply knew me better than anyone else on Earth, which meant that he also understood why I was this way. He had been by my side through all the torment, bullying, and relentless harassment in high school, all thanks to the same person I was now bailing out.
Go figure.
“So, tell me, oh wise one, how do you suppose I treat him like crap and sleep with him at the same time? I doubt one will help me achieve the other.”
“You always hear what you want, don’t you?” he teased with a grin. “I never said to be a chib to him while having sex. My thought process was…if you sleep with him, then you’d have a reason to be nasty toward him. Well, Tiffany would have a reason, I should say. You know, not wanting her hot fiancé to find out and all.”
I hated it when Dave referred to Adam as hot. He was with my sister, which meant there was absolutely nothing appealing about him whatsoever.
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