“I’m not hiding,” she denies, before finally admitting, “Ok, well maybe I am. It’s just that it’s been awkward being around you. You make me anxious.”
My dick and I don’t like the sound of that.
Lani
I’ve been enjoying myself tonight in Evan’s company. He hasn’t been his normal aggressive self, and I was able to finally relax. He’s right, I have been hiding, and it needs to stop. I think a lot of my hang up with Evan is that he’s pretty assertive and I don’t really know much about him. After finding easiness with him tonight, I didn’t like seeing his brow furrowed when I said he made me uncomfortable.
“Evan?” I ask tentatively.
“Yes?” he replies, arching a brow at me. I gulp, God help me, he is one fine man.
“I’ve got a proposition for you,” I reply. He raises his eyebrow even higher.
“Alright, I’m listening,” he says, intrigued.
“Before I moved in, what did you wear whenever you lounged around in your penthouse?”
“Just my underwear,” he huskily answers. The image of him laying sprawled out on the couch in a pair of tight, sexy boxer briefs that outline his big package immediately appears in my mind. Get a grip, Lani.
“Okay, so since you’re always so covered up now, I’m probably making you uncomfortable as well. Now you can’t exactly just walk around in your underwear while I’m around since that would be embarrassing for the both of us, but maybe we can compromise and you could just wear shorts. I don’t want you feeling like a visitor in your own home,” I explain. I hear him let out a small laugh.
“Trust me, I have nothing to be embarrassed about whenever I’m walking around in my underwear,” Evan asserts, looking straight into my eyes, “But I still haven’t heard the proposition.”
This is exactly what I need to put a stop to, so I quickly say, “Treat me like a friend and a roommate, and I’ll start acting like one.”
“Ok,” he replies thoughtfully with a nod of his head. “I can do that. But…if you want me to treat you like a friend, then be prepared to be MY friend,” he warns. “Don’t say that it’s what you want, and then freak out when I treat you like one of my friends.”
Shit. I didn’t even think about that when I came up with the idea to ease the discomfort between us. I’ve witnessed the way he is with his brothers and Brayden, and I know exactly what I’m going to get—an alpha male asshole around the clock.
Evan
Alani’s face falls as realization hits that she’s bitten off more than she can chew. I am somewhat entertained by the look on her face as she contemplates the idea. She takes another sip of her wine before the expression changes to one of resolve.
“So, Evan...tell me the scariest part of you,” she asks, leaning forward bravely. “What exactly are you hiding?”
Fuck me. She wants to meet The Boogeyman. Well, it’s not happening—ever. I don’t care how much liquid courage she drinks, she’ll never be ready to see the darkest parts of me.
“What makes you think I’m hiding anything?” I respond, taking a drink of my wine and leaning back casually in my seat. “Maybe, you just have trust issues.” With years of training and experience in hiding my true feelings and emotions, I’ve mastered the art of deflection. There’s no way I’m letting her into my darkness.
“No, I know you’re hiding something—I just don’t know what it is. But please, I really do want us to be friends. Just tell me one thing you keep hidden from everyone else,” she insistently pleads. Dammit. I can’t say no to her.
“Fine, I’ll tell you one thing...IF, you answer a question for me afterwards,” I bargain with her.
“Ok,” Alani immediately replies, looking at me expectantly.
“Growing up, my homelife sucked. I didn’t play sports because we weren’t allowed out of the house. My father was very abusive, and my mom left when I was four,” I reluctantly disclose in order to keep my adult life a secret.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know. Are your parents still alive?” she inquires softly.
“My father died a few years ago. As far as I know, my mom is still alive somewhere,” I hurriedly reply so we can change the subject. “Your turn to answer a question.”
“Ok, go ahead,” she responds gamely.
“From here on out, if you’re ever worried or scared, I want you to go to me. Can I be YOUR friend, the one you can trust and turn to for help?” I ask earnestly. I want to be the one she needs, the one to give her comfort and support.
“No,” she replies with a shake of her head, “I can’t do that, Evan.”
“Why not?”
“Because you think I’m weak,” she answers, “and if I’m at a moment when I’m already feeling vulnerable, I need someone who I can trust to keep me safe without telling me what I’m incapable of.”
“Alani, I can keep you safe, and I never once thought you were weak.”
“Then why wouldn’t you let me walk Molly home by myself that night? You even called me a little girl,” she argues. She’s right, I did.
“Wanting to keep you safe does not mean I think you’re weak. Besides, I promised Noah that I’d get Molly home safely that night. He would have surgically removed my testicles if anything happened to her,” I explain. “Then, there you were, getting all pissy with me. No one had ever spoken to me the way you did and that intrigued me. I was probably just reacting to the stuff you were saying, but I never meant to imply that you’re incapable. To be honest, I just wanted to spend more time with you.”
“Are you sure friendship is all you’re after?” she questions, looking uncertainly at me.
“Yeah, I am.” For now—but I keep that thought to myself.
We finish dinner with small talk—mostly about our mutual friends, my brothers, and life in general. Now that Alani is relaxed, she’s more congenial and generous with her smiles. She’s being the Alani that I want and love.
Lani
I’ve finished getting ready for my high school reunion, and I’m satisfied with my reflection in the mirror. I picked out this dress in order to make me feel beautiful for when Casey inevitably went out of her way to make me feel ugly again. Although they hurt like crazy in high school, her words no longer bothered me. I’ve grown up since then and have bigger things to worry about than some petty teenage drama.
Walking out of my bedroom, I head straight to the living room to meet Evan. When I see him, I have to stop myself from turning fangirl and fawning over him. He looks amazingly hot in a custom black suit with white pinstripes so fine, they’re barely noticeable. His dark black hair is styled a little shaggy. Unlike his brothers with their dark brown eyes, Evan’s eyes are a captivating deep ocean blue, and I can feel myself getting lost at sea. I make sure I wipe the drool off my chin before I approach him.
“Damn, Alani, you look beautiful,” Evan compliments, looking appreciatively at me. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks and a shiver running down my spine as his eyes slowly devour my body.
“Thanks, so do you. Uh, handsome, I mean. Not beautiful, because you’re a man,” I babble incoherently with a nervous smile. Beautiful and handsome do not begin to describe what he looks like—gorgeous, sexy, and fucking hot all come to mind. Get a grip, Lani! I remind myself again.
Evan grins devilishly before holding his arm out for me and asking, “Shall we?”
At first, I didn’t want to take his arm, but we need to look like a couple tonight so we might as well start now. I tentatively place my hand on the crook of his arm. Evan pulls me beside him and places his other hand on top of mine. Standing next to him, I feel really small. I know I’m short, but the way he towers over me and his hand engulfs mine makes me feel fragile.
Evan
As we pull up to Alani’s old high school, I’m taken aback that they’d hold a reunion here instead of a hotel or banquet hall. I look wryly at Alani, who just shrugs her shoulders— looks like we’re going to prom like a bunch of teenagers. I never went to
prom, not because we weren’t allowed out, but because it was a waste of time, money, and effort. It’s a good thing we weren’t expecting to enjoy ourselves tonight—she’s here to work, and I’m here to cover the delectable ass that’s barely covered by her short, sexy red dress and make sure it stays safe. I park the car and tell Alani to wait inside for a minute so I can go around the other side and open her door. I offer my hand and help her get out. As I close the door, she takes a deep breath and slowly exhales.
“I’m here for you, Alani.” I reassure her with a small squeeze to the hand gripping mine.
With mild surprise, she looks down at our joined hands before giving me a small smile and uttering, “Thanks.”
Taking my arm, Alani leads us inside the high school’s gym. I glance around as we walk in—just as I assumed when we pulled up, the place is decorated like some lame high school prom. There are black and white balloons, white lily centerpieces, and a cheesy red carpet with a photographer at the end. They were probably going for Hollywood Glam and miserably failed.
When we get to the end of the red carpet, the photographer tells us to move in closer. If we’re going to be stuck at this stupid prom all night, I might as well have a little fun. I pull Alani tightly against me, lift her leg up to my hip, and tilt her back against my arm. She’s startled at first, but then she laughs and goes along with it as we both smile for the camera. If Alani doesn’t get what she’s after tonight, she’ll at least have the photo reminding her of our prom night.
After we pass through the line, Alani grabs our table number and looks around for the table we’ve been assigned. I assume she’s found it when her eyes land on a table in the farthest corner with several guests already seated and she lets out a small laugh.
“What’s so funny?” I ask, perusing the table she was looking at.
“Looks like we’re sitting with ‘the band geeks’. Like that’s supposed to humiliate me? Come on.” Alani takes my hand and determinedly pulling me towards the table.
As we’re quickly making our way through the crowd, I notice people staring at us. I use her grip on my hand to pull her back and slow her down. She turns around, eyeing me curiously. I pull her in to quickly touch my lips to hers.
“Slow down, people are watching,” I whisper before pulling away from her. Her eyes register a bit of shock, but she nods her head in understanding before taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. I give her a reassuring smile and put my arm around her shoulders, pulling her against my side. She wraps her arm around my waist, placing her hand on my hip and we start making our way to the table again.
Before we can reach our destination, we’re intercepted from behind as an overly loud feminine voice greets with false enthusiasm, “Alani, hi!”
Alani tenses, her hand clamping down hard on my hip. Judging from Alani’s reaction, it must be Casey. Alani steps away from me to turn and face her high school nemesis.
“Hi, Casey,” Alani replies flatly as I turn to get a look at the bitch who used to antagonize my girl.
“Sorry you wound up at the corner table, but when you let us know at the last second that your friend would be joining you, we had to move you. But I’m sure we can find room for you both at our table,” Casey tells Alani while smiling seductively at me. I watch as Casey’s eyes slowly sweep my body up and down. Five seconds with her and she’s already pissing me off.
“It’s alright, we don’t mind,” Alani responds.
“Oh, come on, Alani, it’ll be just like old times! Come sit with us,” Casey bubbly invites, gesturing to a table towards the center filled with people who were probably part of the popular crowd.
“No, really it’s alright,” Alani repeats loudly.
“Well, okay, we’ll be over there in case you change your mind. By the way, it’s good to see you’ve lost some weight over the years. Otherwise, your friend here would probably have dropped you earlier while you were taking that photo,” Casey remarks insincerely to Alani before smiling sweetly at me. “I know you’re strong and muscular, but let’s face it, our little Alani here was a bit of a heifer back then,” she flirtatiously adds.
“Oh, I highly doubt that. I can’t imagine my Alani ever being fat,” I arrogantly dispute Casey’s claim. “She tends to keep this sweet ass toned, especially with our daily nocturnal activities.” For emphasis, I slap my hand on Alani’s ass and keep it there. I know Alani’s probably going to kill me later, but I’ll risk it. I’m not about to stand around letting some two-bit whore insult my girl in front of me. I hear Alani make a barely noticeable choked sound and feel her hand clutch the one I have on her ass. I send her a silent apology, but judging from the look she gives me, the light squeeze on her ass wasn’t the way to do it.
“Yeah, well she was,” Casey replies lamely, looking disappointed. She recovers her sickly sweet facade and addresses me, “It looks like Alani has forgotten her manners by not introducing us. I’m Casey, and you are?”
“Alani’s fiancé, Evan,” I respond curtly, ignoring Casey’s outstretched hand. I feel Alani’s grip tighten on my hand. If she wasn’t so small, she’d probably be crushing my hand. I figured the situation required an upgrade to our imaginary relationship status, so I just smile innocently at Alani, hoping she understands. The murderous look she turns on me destroys that hope immediately. She’s probably working out the dimensions of the hole she’ll be burying me in later. Luckily, Casey’s focus was on me the whole time and she missed Alani’s reaction. I turn towards Casey, who’s looking at me skeptically with her mouth agape.
“No way, I don’t believe it! You didn’t mention you had a fiancé,” Casey accuses Alani, suspiciously eyeing the missing engagement ring on Alani’s hand.
“I caught her off guard when I recently proposed. It’s a shame I didn’t have her with me when I picked the ring out, she could be showing it off right now instead of having it resized,” I explain easily. Before Casey could say anything else, I dismiss her with a nod, saying, “We need to get to our table. Alani, would you like to have a seat while I get us some drinks?”
“That’s okay, I’ll go with you,” Alani responds, finally removing my hand from her ass. Holding on to my hand, she leans towards me and whispers, “I think I’ll hold on to this in case it decides to wander inappropriately to another part of my body.”
I smirk as we walk off and head to the bar. At least she’s going to wait until later to kick my ass for all the shit I’ve pulled.
“So now we’re engaged?” Alani questions me in a whisper after we’ve been waiting in line for a few minutes. The lines are long and the event is so disorganized that it annoys the piss out of me.
“Looks like it,” I reply, winking at her.
“It would’ve been nice to come prepared with all the details of your wonderfully romantic proposal. Women ask about that stuff, you know,” she complains, swatting me on the arm and turning her back to me. Is she serious right now? Granted, we didn’t discuss an engagement when we went over our story for tonight, but can’t she just wing it? I don’t bother to respond since she’s turned her back to me—I know enough about women to know that it’s the universal code for she’s done talking to me right now.
With drinks in hand, we go to our table, quickly greet the guests already seated there and have a seat. I sit with my arm on the back of Alani’s chair so that we can keep up appearances while talking without being overheard.
“Do you see him?” I ask.
“No. He’s Casey’s husband, so I’m sure he’s here somewhere,” Alani replies.
“Ok, just make sure you stay close to me. Even if you need to go to the bathroom, I’ll stand right outside the door.”
“Evan, I’ll be fine. I’m not going to do anything stupid,” she replies dismissively.
“Stay close, Alani. I mean it.” I warn, irritated at her lack of concern for her safety.
“Alright. Jeez,” she finally agrees, sounding exasperated.
Lani
At first,
it pissed me off when Evan invited himself to my reunion, but now that we’re here, I feel better having him around. With him, I don’t feel like the loser loner I once was, and secretly, I loved the way he handled Casey. I’m glad he saw through her lies and came to my defense about my being fat in high school, but he and I need to have a little chat about boundaries. I didn’t appreciate the hard slap on the ass—it stung and will probably leave his handprint on me for days. If I’m being honest, the feel of Evan’s hand on my ass thrilled me, having his fingers so close to my pussy. The squeeze of his hand had brought his fingertips dangerously close to the moisture that had started to seep from the juncture between my legs, and it ignited a feeling of need in me. I wound up giving him the dirty look that I should have directed at myself for the way my body was responding to him.
Uncovering Stone Page 5