Joey kicked off his shoes and closed his closet door. “I’ll sleep on the couch.” He grabbed a pillow and walked out of the room.
“What about the spare bedroom?”
“The mattress sucks. I prefer the couch.”
Since I had to use the bathroom, I walked out into the hallway and saw him trying to get comfortable . He didn’t have a blanket and his legs hung off the arm of the couch.
When I came back out, he was flipping through the television channels. “Can I borrow a t-shirt?”
He stood up and walked into the bedroom. “First my bed and now my clothes. For someone that won’t get naked with me, you sure do expect a lot,” he joked.
“I got locked out. Don’t worry, though. I won’t make this a habit.”
“I don’t mind.” He handed me a shirt and a pair of boxers. “Is this good?”
I smiled. “Thanks for bringing me inside. How did you know I was out back?”
“Ford text me and asked if you were staying with me. When I got back and you weren’t here, I text him. He said you weren’t there either, so I checked out back. I figured you’d locked yourself out of both places, bein’ as you were so upset earlier.”
“You’ve been a good fake boyfriend today. Thanks for that.”
He stood there, looking right at me, smiling. “How about I keep up the lie and sleep in here with you?”
I crossed my arms. “I’m not sleeping with you, Joey.”
“I didn’t want to sleep.”
I tossed another pillow at him. “Stop!”
He walked out of the room again, leaving me alone. I climbed in under the covers and got comfortable, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him being out on the couch. He’d been so nice to me, and jokes aside, we were both adults. It wasn’t like he was going to force me to do anything. Besides, I didn’t want to be alone, because I couldn’t stop thinking about losing Shayne.
I yelled his name. “JOEY.”
He came running in the room. “What’s wrong?”
I patted the side of the bed next to me. “If you promise not to try anything, we can share.”
“So glad you get to make the rules in my apartment.” He climbed in beside me and tried to get comfortable. I rolled to face the opposite direction and tried to close my eyes.
Just as I was falling asleep I felt his hand wrapping around me and pulling me close. He brought his lips down to the back of my shoulders and kissed me tenderly. “Goodnight Lace.”
I reached my hand up and intertwined it with his. “Don’t let go.”
And he didn’t.
This soft side of Joey was his deep dark secret and it was helping me cope. I didn’t want some kind of revenge sex to try to make me feel better. I wanted a friend to help me see that I was going to get through this. Unbeknownst to me, Joey was being that friend.
Chapter 9
Shayne
The bridges were burned and I had to keep moving forward, no matter how bad I felt about it. After sleeping in a hotel, I couldn’t get my mind off of Lacey. It was like nothing else mattered; not finding a place to live or figuring out what I was going to do until all of this blew over.
Parker called me first thing in the morning and when I saw his name displayed on the caller I.D., I almost didn’t want to answer.
“Are you callin’ to say you’re sorry?”
“I feel real bad about what you did, Shayne. It’s wrong. They need to know the truth.”
“It’s fine. I’d rather them be disappointed in me than you.”
“I can’t focus on school while my brother is takin’ Hell from the whole family. It ain’t right.”
I appreciated that he understood the ramifications of what I was doing for him, but he didn’t need to worry. I had things under control. “Listen, Park, I need you to stay focused. Dad is being a dick as usual, but he’ll come around. Just keep your cool and let me handle it.”
“Peyton told me Lacey was there last night. How did she take it?”
“She’s with someone else, so apparently she didn’t care much. She already thinks I’m a lyin’ cheater, so it’s nothin’ new.”
“Dude, I can tell you like her. If there’s a chance to get back with her, you should do it. I can handle my own messes, you know.”
“She’s done with me.”
“Thanks for havin’ my back, Shayne. I owe you my life.”
“If you say you owe me your first born child I might need to reach through the phone and kick your ass.”
“I wasn’t goin’ to say that. Damn. I better go. I don’t want to be late for class.”
“See ya.”
It sucked that I had nobody to talk to about my predicament. In the time that I’d been seeing Lacey, she’d become my go-to. My attempts at rebuilding a relationship with Ford had blown up in my face, so I couldn’t count on him to have my back either.
Without even thinking, I started heading back to the apartments. I needed to talk to Lacey and set things straight. She needed to know how I felt about her, even if she didn’t feel the same way about me anymore. I felt like I couldn’t move forward until I had some kind of closure.
Her car was in the same place as when I left. Figuring that she’d be back at Ford’s place, I knocked on their door. After waiting five minutes, Ford answered the door, shirtless, with a spatula in his hand. “It’s too early for visitors.”
I could smell the bacon cooking from inside and saw Sky walking past. “Sorry, I just wanted to talk to Lace.”
He sighed and looked back inside before turning his attention to me. “She ain’t here, man.”
Feeling defeated, I turned around and started to walk away. Sky came to the door. “Shayne, wait.”
“You don’t have to be nice to me, Sky. I know where she’s at.”
She grabbed my arm and looked at me like she felt sorry for me. “I know what you did for me and Ford. He may still be mad at you, but I don’t blame you for the other stuff. You were protecting your brother, just like you’re doing right now. Lacey needs to know the truth, though.”
“I came here to tell her, but she’s clearly busy with other things.” I shook my head. “So, she really spent the night with him?”
She put her hands up. “I guess. I mean, she never came back and she left her phone here. Joey text Ford and said she was staying the night. Honestly, Lacey didn’t tell me that she was into him. In fact, she said she didn’t want anything to do with him. It makes no sense.”
“You think she’s lyin’?”
As much as I hoped for it to be true, I couldn’t help what I’d already seen. “I don’t know. You’re going to have to ask her yourself.”
It was chilly outside and she crossed her arms over her chest. “Thanks for the advice, Sky. I’m just goin’ to knock on the door and see if she’ll come out.”
She walked back inside before I got the nerve to knock on Joey’s door. I couldn’t be mad at him for being with Lacey. She was stunning and had a great personality, not to mention, she was a tiger in the bed. If anything, Joey was going to be the one who had a problem with what I was about to ask.
Lacey
I rolled over and saw the spot next to me was empty. I could smell coffee and the sound of the television playing in the other room. After going into the bathroom and gargling with mouthwash, I walked out to see where Joey was and to thank him for being kind to me.
I found him in the kitchen, cooking up a storm. He smiled when I walked in and leaned my head on the opening to the room. “Hey.”
“Thanks for letting me stay.”
“No big deal, Lace. I’m not a monster, like you assume. I could tell you needed a friend.”
I pulled out a chair and sat down at his small table. “Yeah, is that what we are? Are we friends?”
He shrugged and turned his food around in the pan. “I guess we are, until you tell me otherwise.”
I snorted at his comment. “You don’t give up do you?”
“I know
what I want. Is that a bad thing?”
“It is when you know you’re never going to have it.” I said it with a bit of sarcasm, but he continued to smile like my words meant nothing.
Joey poured a cup of coffee and sat it down in front of me. “You want milk?”
“Yeah, I can get it.” I stood up and our hands reached for the refrigerator at the same time. When we touched, I felt a shock between us. He looked at me and I couldn’t take my eyes off of his. “Sorry.” I tried to pull away, but he grabbed it and held it in between us.
With his other hand, he reached up and brushed the hair back away from my eyes. “You’re just as sexy in the morning, as before you went to sleep.”
“Friends don’t talk like that to each other.”
He bit down on his lip and leaned closer to me. I could feel his breath on my face. “I need to kiss you.”
It was that moment where our chemistry was undeniable. I’d spent the night holding hands with this man, who had done nothing but try to get in my pants from the day we’d met. I knew he was attracted to the idea of having sex with me, but this was different. I wanted him to kiss me too. In fact, I needed to feel his lips covering mine. “Friends don’t kiss.”
He drug his lips over mine slowly and pulled away. “Maybe we shouldn’t be friends, then.”
I couldn’t answer him, because his wet lips were pressed against mine. This wasn’t an ordinary first kiss that was awkward and short. This kiss was filled with hot passion. His sultry tongue caressed mine, making me forget about how much I hated him. His fingers traced down one of my arms until he reached my fingers, where he intertwined them together.
I ran my other hand up his chest and felt his warm, smooth skin against my palm. Joey pressed me harder against the refrigerator. I was too afraid to open my eyes, so I kept them shut, as my entire body became overwhelmed with new sensations. When our kiss finally stopped, he kept his lips over mine and opened his eyes, looking right at me. I leaned in to place a small kiss on him, but he backed away and smiled. “Don’t get too carried away, Lace.”
When he pulled away, I couldn’t help but grab his arm and make him stop.
He cocked his eyebrow and gave me another half smile. “I told you that I wouldn’t beg.”
I sighed and watched him making his way back to the pan. Without arguing with him, I walked up and tapped him on the back. No words could have explained things more than me grabbing the waist of his pants and pulling him back into another kiss.
Joey drug his tongue over mine once and then pulled away. He took my hand and kissed it, before dropping it, picking me up and sitting me on the counter. He pushed his body in between my legs and teased the bottom of the t-shirt that I had on with his thumbs. With one swift tug, my shirt came over my head. I crossed my arms over my chest and he pulled them away. “Don’t hide from me. I’m a grown man and you have nothin’ to be ashamed of.”
I wasn’t used to being treated like an adult, or acting modest, but Joey intimidated me. He was so cocky and I completely believed that he was as good as he claimed to be. Maybe that’s what scared me so much about him in the first place.
I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned in to kiss him, but he pulled away. “Once you cross this line, there ain’t no goin’ back, Lace. When I get you naked and take you to my bed, it’s my rules, so you need to decide if that’s somethin’ you want. I’ve played this cat and mouse game with you, just waitin’ for you to admit that there’s somethin’ between us. I can wait longer, if I need to.” He leaned in, pecked me, and went back to cooking.
I sat there for a second hot and bothered. “You couldn’t have known that when we first met, because I thought you were an asshole.”
He laughed. “You thought I was sexy.”
“Stop doing that. Don’t put words into my mouth.”
He looked over. “Admit it. You were just as curious as I was. You can hide behind your broken heart, but this never had anything to do with feelin’s. We have sexual chemistry. I could tell from that first night. Like I told you before, though, I won’t beg. When you’re ready to give your body to me, you know where to find me.”
His words gave me chills again. “What does that entail; me giving my body to you?”
He turned off the burner and moved the food to the side, before separating my legs and wedging himself between them. I felt his hands touching the strap to my bra, then it falling loose. He pulled it off and tossed it on the table behind him. “First I get you naked.” His tongue slid down the base of my neck and over my collarbone. “Then I carry you to my bed.”
I ran my hands through his dark hair, while feeling him sucking on one of my nipples. I had butterflies everywhere and I was burning for him to touch me in all the right places.
While reaching my hand down into the front of his shorts, we heard someone knocking on the door. Joey licked my nipple again. “Just ignore it.”
They kept knocking.
He stood up and kissed me one more time before walking into the living room to open the door. “What do you want now?”
“Don’t act like I’m interupptin’ somethin’. I know this is all some show to piss me off.”
Hearing Shayne’s voice was shocker, but hearing him calling me a liar pissed me off, so much that I stood up, covered myself up with my hands and walked out into the living room topless. “Just a show?”
Chapter 10
Shayne
I couldn’t believe my eyes. Lacey was standing there, in nothing but a pair of boxer shorts. Joey crossed his arms and had a cocky smile on his face that I wanted to rip off. It felt like someone was kicking me repeatedly in the gut, albeit I couldn’t take my eyes off of Lacey. “I…came to talk to you.”
“We were in the middle of something, obviously.” She wasn’t giving me an inch of respect, not that I could blame her.
“Please. It’s important.”
Joey motioned for me to sit down. “Have a seat, man. I’ll give you two some privacy.” He walked past Lacey and headed into the kitchen. She backed up and followed him, then seconds later came out with a large t-shirt on. She sat down on the other end of the couch, pulled her knees up to her chest and sipped on her coffee. “What do you want, Shayne?”
I covered my face with my hands. “I saw this goin’ differently.”
“Sorry that I ruined it for you.”
“Lace, please. Just hear me out.”
“If you’re going to tell me not to see Joey, I’m afraid that’s not going to happen.” She was adamant about me knowing that they were an item. I hated it so much.
“This is about me. I mean, I don’t like you bein’ with him, but I get that my opinion doesn’t matter to you.” I hesitated before I could begin talking again. It was hard for me to look at her, when inside I was dying because she was sleeping with Joey. “The baby ain’t mine, Lace. I never slept with Ashley and I never will. The reason I took responsibility was for Parker’s sake. He’s got a real chance at goin’ somewhere. I can’t let this keep him from that. I know in time, he’ll be ready to step up, but for now, it’s the least I can do to make amends with myself for what I did to Ford, Sky and even you.”
The coffee cup left her lips and her eyes widened. “I never asked you to punish yourself.”
“No, but I’m sure you wished worse for me.”
Lacey’s eyes started to tear up. “I may have said things, but I didn’t mean them. You hurt me so much, Shayne. I thought we had something special, but to you I was just a piece of ass.”
I moved closer to her and touched her foot. “You’re wrong, babe. I may not have admitted it, but you were so much more than that. I was stupid for takin’ you for granted. If I had a second chance, I do so much differently. I’d start by makin’ sure everyone knows that you belonged to me and I belonged to you, but it’s too late now. You’ve moved on and it’s clear to me that I lost my chance.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks and when she began to sniffle, I knew she wa
s breaking down even more. “All I ever wanted was for you to love me, Shayne.”
I had knots in my gut and could feel myself getting emotional when she said those words. They were words that I’d never said to a single girl and meant. “I do.”
Lacey wiped her tears away and looked down at her cup of coffee. “I want to believe that, Shayne. I swear I do. It’s just that I don’t think I’m ready to be able to trust you.”
I nodded and faked a half smile. “Yeah, I get it.”
Lacey put her legs down on the floor and reached for my hand. She traced my fingers with hers, while little sniffles escaped her. “But I don’t want to let you go, either.”
I could feel my heartbeat picking up. For once, I had hope. I intertwined our fingers and looked right at her. “What are you sayin’, Lace?”
She shrugged. “Can I meet you at your house later so we can talk?”
“No. My dad kicked me out last night. Apparently, havin’ a kid is against the rules, even if it ain’t really mine.”
“Where will you go?” Her concern was reassuring. I appreciated that she still worried about me.
“I reckon I need to look for a place. I was plannin’ on buyin’ a paper and callin’ some places today. It ain’t like I’m goin’ to show up for work. My dad needs a couple days to cool off before I get anywhere near him.”
“I bet.” She looked toward the kitchen and I knew she was thinking about Joey. That uncomfortable feeling was immediately noticeable in the pit of my stomach again. “Do you want some company when you’re looking?”
I raise my brow and looked at her, wondering what she was implying. “Won’t he be mad?”
She squinted and looked at the kitchen again. “I think it’s best if we don’t talk about relationships today. I’ll go with you as a friend.”
“I’ll take whatever I can get.” She had no idea how happy I was to be able to spend time with her. I didn’t care that I’d interrupted her and Joey. I didn’t even care that he was patiently waiting in the kitchen for me to leave. All I cared about was spending the day with Lacey, even if it was just on a friend’s pretense.
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