Unsocial

by Dykes, Nicole

  “No, never. Right after I just went right back to being his little sister’s friend.”

  I scoff at that, “Yeah it didn’t look like he just wanted to be friends tonight.”

  She does that laughing shit again like I just said the most hilarious thing in the world. “No, he’s just flirty by nature, but there’s nothing there.”

  I don’t believe that for a goddamn minute. There may not be anything there for Brooke, but there damn sure is for Trevor. Why I care, I don’t know. “So, you obviously ended up with Shriller. How did that happen?”

  She grins all seductively. “I’m a brilliant study, Dylan. I observed all those girls flirting with him, and just put everything I learned to use.” All I can do is stare. “Seriously, though, the more we hung out the closer we got, and we just kind of drifted into a relationship. I think it was because I loved all the cars and motorcycles so much, and after that one time with Trevor I just wasn’t so scared of trying to get his attention anymore. We ended up seeing each other until we graduated. I wanted to stay and go to college, and he wanted to go on the circuit.”

  “And then the college boyfriend.”

  “Will.”

  What a pussy name. “So you’ve just been with those three guys, or were there a few more before you stopped doing casual?” I have to wonder why my voice sounds a little bitter.

  “Just those three.”

  I sink further into the couch, putting my feet up on the coffee table. “Wow. Does that mean you’re just really not into casual, or are the men in this town blind and stupid?”

  She laughs and puts her feet next to mine on the coffee table, “Really, I just don’t do one-night stands. The whole Trevor thing was just a result of being drunk, young, and dumb. Do you even know your number?”

  “Number?”

  “Of women, Dylan. Do you know how many you’ve slept with?”

  I think about it, “I have no fucking idea.” That’ll probably scare her off. I probably disgust her.

  Then she surprises me. “I get it, Dylan, and its okay.”

  I stare long and hard into her face. “How can you even think that, Brooke?”

  She puts her hand over mine, “It’s because I think sex to you is just a release, an escape. Everyone needs one. Some people use reading books, television, or shopping. You use sex.”

  I’ve never thought about it before, but I guess she’s right. I drop my feet and sit up straight, still looking at Brooke, “And what is your escape?”

  She bites her lower lip, something that drives me wild every fucking time. “Hmm, I don’t know anymore. It used to be going to the races. Something about the tension in the air, the noise of the engines, the smell of the gas and burning rubber, and just watching them fly around the track. I ate it up; it turned me on, and I think that’s what freed me enough to make my move on Adam.”

  She had me until she mentioned Shriller’s name. It feels fucking strange to be jealous of someone you’re a fan of.

  She leans up and smiles. She’s sitting close to me now. Our thighs are touching, and our faces are close enough that I can feel her breaths- small pants- that let me know she’s as affected as much as I am. And I’m affected judging by how fucking hard I am right now.

  “We should go sometime.” I don’t have a clue what the hell she’s talking about because I’m zeroed in on her scent and those lips. I want those lips.

  I try to get back on track. “Where?”

  “To watch Adam race. He’ll be here in March, and we could go with Luke. I could introduce you guys to him.”

  I have to ask myself, as much as I like watching him race, do I want to meet another one of Brooke’s three? No, but Luke would come in his jeans at the chance. Honestly, though, I would probably take anything I could get from this girl. “Sounds like a plan.”

  Our faces have drifted so close that I lean my forehead to hers. I’m going to kiss her. I know she’ll kiss me back too. I skim my lips across hers, and when she parts her lips on a sigh, I decide to go full throttle. I tilt her head for a better angle and go back in stronger. I love her lips.

  Then the front door slams and Brooke jumps back like she’s been caught stealing the last damn cookie. I look up at Jax standing just inside glaring at us. He’s taking in the whole scene, and he’s not liking what he’s seeing.

  “So, how’s Cass?” He asks snidely.

  I stand up pissed off at the obvious cock block not to mention the attitude in his voice. “What are you doing here?”

  “I came to make sure everything was okay…with Cass.”

  Yeah right, asshole. We both know damn well he’s here to check on Brooke and me. We stare each other down, and Brooke stands up to diffuse the situation, “Cassie is doing better and is asleep. I was just about to ask Dylan to take me home.”

  His eyes take in her appearance. “Yeah, I could see that when I walked in. But since Cassie is alright, I’ll head home and give you a ride on my way.”

  No fucking way. “No, I brought her here, I will take her home.”

  “It’s no trouble at all. I’m going home, and she’s going home. You need to stay here with the kids.”

  Brooke looks cautiously over at me and then at Jax, “Uh, sure. If you don’t mind. That would be great.”

  “Brooke, I can take you home. It’s no big deal.”

  “He’s already going. It’s okay; I’ll see you Tuesday.”

  This isn’t happening. “Jax, I need to talk to you for a minute before you go.” I start walking to the kitchen, and he follows me.

  When we’re out of earshot of Brooke, I glare at him, “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “I’m saving your ass.”

  “What are you talking about? Saving me from what?”

  “From being a fucking idiot and losing the kids. It’s pretty damn clear you aren’t giving up getting your little social worker’s ass in bed, but with kid’s in the house. That’s not smart, buddy.”

  “Her name is Brooke.”

  “It doesn’t fucking matter what her name is. Think of her as Ms. Porter if it’ll get your head out of your ass. You can’t have her. Your fascination with her is because she’s forbidden fruit. Trust me it isn’t worth it. As soon as you fuck her you will be done, and then what?”

  I stare hard at him. I hate this fucking confusion. Maybe he’s right, but what if he’s not. Brooke just admitted to having a one-night stand, what’s to say she wouldn’t do it again. I just need to get her out of my system. “It’s none of your business.”

  “Bullshit, we’ve been friends for way too long. It’s my job to pull you back and make you open your eyes. This is just an itch you can’t scratch.”

  I can see I can’t talk to him anymore about this without one or both of us saying or doing something we can’t take back. I decide to retreat, for now. “Well, I can, at least, take her home. There is no harm in that.”

  “Again, bullshit. Who knows what would have happened if I hadn’t walked in when I did.”

  “And why did you come over. Shouldn’t you be with Alex? What’s the matter man, you losing your touch?”

  He smirks, “Turns out, Alex is actually a good girl. Not really into one night stands. Plus she likes to make a guy work for it. Not really my thing. Had a nice talk with her and her brother, though.”

  Fucking great. He’s bonding with the enemy. Is he my enemy? “About what?”

  “All kinds of shit. But one thing I figured out is that his goal is the same as yours, and that’s to nail Brooke.”

  My hands ball into a fist at my sides, and my vision goes a crazy shade of red.

  I knew it.

  “But you know the difference between you and him? Fucking her won’t fuck up his entire life, but it will yours. So you need to step aside and move on to random and easy like you usually go for.”

  His rationalizing bullshit is starting to piss me off. “He said he wanted to fuck her?”

  “He didn’t come right out and say i
t, but trust me he wants to. His sister didn’t seem to be too upset about everything he was insinuating either. And he’s apparently going to have plenty of opportunities to get what he wants while he’s staying with them.”

  What the fuck did he just say? I had to have heard that wrong when I blacked out. “What?”

  “He’s staying with them while he’s in town, for the next month anyway.”

  Brooke never said anything about that. Why the hell would she let him stay at her apartment if she wasn’t into him? Did she lie to me? I mean she kind of lied about the whole casual thing, I think. Was the one-night stand with Trevor considered casual? Hell, what the hell is casual, wouldn’t that be sex without strings? I don’t do shit like that; I strictly keep to one-night stands because casual would without a doubt morph into the whole relationship bullshit. I wonder briefly, could I do casual with Brooke? No, just absolutely fucking not. So what is it that Trevor is suggesting? He’s leaving in a month and wants to hookup. Does that mean for the whole month or another one night stand? Would Brooke do that, have a month-long fling with an old friend who took her virginity, and who evidently has the fucking green light to go for it.

  Oh, hell no.

  Then I think of how she was into me tonight, I know that. It wasn’t all fucking alcohol that made her respond to me. I want more of getting to know Brooke. It felt so right for her to come home with me to help me with Cassie. God, I sound like a fucking chick. What is wrong with me?

  Jax pats my shoulder, “I’m going to wait in the car, do yourself a favor and send her out.”

  He leaves, and I go back into the living room where Brooke is playing with her phone on the couch. She stands up.

  “Jax is waiting for you; I’m sorry about this. I can take you if you want me to.”

  She smiles, but after what Jax just said, I can’t. “No that’s okay. Thank you though. I’ll see you Tuesday?”

  She heads to the door, and I say, “Yeah, Tuesday.” She turns the knob, and I get a brilliant idea. “Since it is Halloween I was wondering if you could help me with the kids’ costumes?”

  She thinks about it, “Yeah, of course, I would love to help. And I can bring something to cook.”

  “I thought cooking lessons were over?”

  “Well, this is a special occasion. I’ll surprise you guys.”

  I laugh suddenly I can’t wait for Tuesday. And fuck Trevor. He had his chance. “Sounds great.”

  Before she closes the door, she gives me that sweet smile of hers that has me wanting to grab her and kiss the hell out of her. “Tonight was fun. I enjoyed us getting to know each other better.”

  I nod, “Me too.”

  She leaves to meet Jax, and I stand in the living room. I have never been more frustrated and confused in my entire life.

  Every fucking thing about Brooke Porter is driving me insane.

  Chapter 16

  Brooke

  I stand in front of Jackson’s car a little stunned. I swear it’s like I stepped a moment back in time. It’s the same kind of car that Adam had in high school. How many times did I climb in that car after sneaking so I could go to the races or the lake in the summer? It’s been beautifully restored. The ’69 GTO’s black paint job gleams in the moonlight. He watches me round the car no doubt taking in my clothes, well, Dylan’s clothes. I feel all kinds of awkward as I slide in the front seat. He doesn’t say a word, so to break the uncomfortable silence I say, “Love your car. The best year for the GTO is a 69, so good choice. I especially like your choice to keep the dash original.”

  “You know cars?” he asks casting me a sideways glance.

  “Well, yeah, muscle cars. My high school boyfriend raced them. His car was a 69 Goat. Best in Kansas.” I say with pride.

  “Nice.”

  “For me, 69 was the best year for muscles. One of the races was for pinks, and he got the slip on a 69 Roadrunner. My all time favorite car. His dad talked him into selling it and getting a dirt bike. But before he sold it I had fun driving it.” I reminisce. He probably thinks I sound crazy.

  He’s silent for a minute, then surprises me. “Did you say your favorite ride is a 69 Roadrunner?”

  “Yeah, when Adam won the pinks on it I got to drive it home. After that, he pretty much let me drive it whenever I wanted. If I had had that kind of money, I would have bought it from him.”

  All he says, which surprises me, “Oh, shit.”

  I have absolutely no idea how to respond so I stay silent. “Brooke, you guys have to stop this.”

  I turn to him, “What?”

  He doesn’t turn to look at me, just stares straight ahead. “You know exactly what I mean. This thing with you two, it can fuck everything up for him. He seems tough, and he is one tough motherfucker, but he loves those kids. He can’t lose them. It will kill him.”

  I’m pretty sure he doesn’t want me to say anything. Part of me totally understands where he is coming from. He cares about Dylan and the kids and doesn’t want anything to get in the way. “I won’t let that happen. My job isn’t to break them up, Jackson. It’s to make sure that they stay together.”

  He nods, “Good. Then stay away from him.”

  “Excuse me, but I can’t exactly do that. I’m his case worker.”

  He turns to me now, “Exactly. Remember that.”

  “There’s no way I can forget it,” I answer him with a hard tone.

  “You also need to keep in mind that Dylan is not relationship material. Hell, he doesn’t even keep them around long enough to get a name and phone number most of the time. You, however, are a forever girl, and your kind gets hurt feelings, and that never ends well for guys like him. It usually leads to some sort of “fuck you for fucking me” drama. And in this case, what’s to say you don’t hit him where it will hurt him the most, the kids.”

  I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from lashing out too harshly, but just barely. “You don’t know me, and you can’t sit there and say what I would and wouldn’t do in a situation like that; however, it’s a moot point. There’s nothing going on that you need to worry about. Dylan is my client, and that’s it. I know you’re worried about Dylan losing the kids, but if that line were ever crossed, I could lose my job.” We pull up outside my apartment just as I finish my little diatribe, and I can’t get out of the car fast enough. I open the door and say over my shoulder, “Thank you for the ride.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  He wastes no time in pulling out as soon as I close the door. Asshole. I find my keys in my purse and walk inside. I put everything down on the table by the door and turn toward the living room.

  Trevor is there stretched out on the couch flipping through channels in his boxers. A huge duffle bag is on the floor beside him. I had no idea he would be moving in tonight, but I know we’re going to have to have a conversation about boundaries.

  He smiles over at me, “Hey, Brooke. You’re finally home. You missed the last part of our set.”

  I sit in the big comfy chair in the living room. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

  He sits up, “Alex said you had some emergency.”

  “Yeah, I had to help Dylan.”

  He looks at my attire, “Uh, huh. How exactly did you help him?”

  I roll my eyes, “Not like that. He lent me these clothes because I was cold.”

  He’s about to say something smartass; I’m sure, when Alex rushes the room with attitude written all over her. “Where the hell have you been?”

  Whoa, skip attitude, she’s pissed. “Alex, you know where I was. I told you.”

  “Yeah, you told me you were going to help Dylan with Cassie, not that you were going to be gone for three fucking hours, Brooke. What were you doing?” she asks accusingly.

  Seriously? She had never interrogated me like this before, and I don’t like it. I’m a grown woman dammit. “I was helping Dylan with Cassie. Then we sat and talked. What exactly is your problem?”

  “Really? You want to know what
my problem is, Brooke?” She glares at me, and I simply glare back.

  Trevor looks from me to her. “Okay, you two. Alex, chill.”

  “No, I won’t chill.” She turns to me, “Brooke, you are going to mess up everything you have worked your ass off for. And for what? One night of hot sex? I mean seriously, Dylan is a one-time guy, and you know it. I know you, you would hate yourself afterward.”

  I stand up from the chair and get closer to Alex, “We didn’t have sex, Alex. I talked to Cassie, and then we talked. I can’t believe you’re acting like this. You need to back off. We haven’t crossed any lines.” I damn sure hope she buys that lie.

  “So nothing inappropriate happened? How about at the club? Everyone saw you two, and that wasn’t professional in any fucking way.”

  Alex and I rarely fight, but when we do it’s usually a blowout. Trevor knows this and tries to derail what’s coming. “They were dancing, sis.”

  “Exactly,” I follow. “We were just dancing and hanging out. You’re the one that dragged me out telling me to have fun. Well, I was having fun.”

  “Yeah, I did want you to have fun, but not with a client, Brooke. I didn’t expect you to go hell bent on destroying your career when it just barely started. And even if no one finds out about it, you will know. And I know you well enough to know that it will fuck with your mind.”

  “I didn’t do anything wrong. Nothing happened. Nothing is going to happen. Dylan and I are friends. I care about the whole family, but I know first and foremost they are my clients.”

  She folds her arms, “I don’t believe you.”

  “That’s on you, Alex. I know what’s important, and you and Jackson need to leave me alone,” I say angrily. I’ve had it with this gang-up-on-Brooke shit.

  “See what I’m talking about. We all can see it, Brooke. You two are insanely attracted to each other, and you need to pull yourself back before it goes too far.”

  Damn. Damn. Damn. I know she’s right, but I will not pull away from the family again. I will find a nice balance if it kills me. “It won’t go too far, Alex. I promise. I have it under control. I am going to help them without sacrificing my career.”