by Toni Aleo
When I reach for my keys, Callie looks back at me. “Aren’t you gonna wait for the game to be over?”
I want to, but I don’t want her to know I want to. She’ll think I like Nico. Then she’ll want me to date him, get married, have babies, and be rich. Since I don’t want to tell her the truth or open a can of Nico worms, I shake my head. “No, the sooner I get out, the sooner I can come home.”
She rolls her eyes. “Or you can stay out and have fun.”
I wave her off. “No, I’ve got things to do in the morning.” My excuse for everything. “Plus, I have to prep for the subs on Monday. You saw how long it took to prep for today.”
Boy, was it some work. I made over a hundred subs and side trays with all the fixings. It was awesome, but the pay was even better.
“I’ll help you. Just stay out. Have fun. Go home with someone.”
My jaw actually drops as my phone dings, letting me know my Uber is here. “With who, Callie? Any Joe Schmo I meet?”
She shrugs, looking a whole lot of guilty before she says, “Whoever catches your eye. Just have fun. Let loose.”
I put on my crossover bag and shake my head at her. “You’re gonna give me an ulcer at the thought of sending you to college.”
She snorts. “Don’t worry. I’ll make good choices and some bad.”
“The bad are what worry me,” I call to her before saying goodbye and heading out the door. Once I’m downstairs, I lock everything up and head out to the car. I can’t help but look up at the apartment window, the TV light filling the room my sister sits in. I shake my head. That girl is crazy. I have no desire to go home with some Joe Schmo. But Nico Merryweather…that’s a whole different story.
Not that it would ever happen.
The pub is packed when I arrive. I soon realize it’s because the game was on. Apparently I’m so in the dark about the IceCats that I didn’t even know people actually gathered to watch them. Thankfully, once the game is over, the pub starts to clear out, but there is still a buzz going on. Pretty sure it’s from how hot Jaylin is. Her skin is the color of milk chocolate, while her ebony hair falls straight along her shoulders. She has the perfect caramel eyes that are framed by dramatic lashes. Her lips are so thick I envy them. She’s in a tight yellow skirt and a black crop top containing her huge boobs, and it’s easy to say I’m jealous of my friend. She’s utterly fantastic, and all the guys are checking her out. Hell, I’m checking her out.
“Did you go up a size?” I ask, tipping my head toward her boobs.
“Yes, I told you that. Porn star titties is what I am going for.”
We snort with laughter as I shake my head. “I’m so jealous.”
“Get them done. It’s so easy.”
“I can’t,” I say on an exhale. “I’m saving back up for Callie’s, and then maybe I’ll do mine.”
While we were close in high school and all through college, it wasn’t time that morphed our friendship into a sisterhood. It was the pain we went through. After I lost my mom from breast cancer, not six weeks later, Jaylin was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer. And then I found out I had the gene for the same cancer my mom had. Jaylin and I went through the double mastectomy surgery together. We lay in bed together, watched movies, and mended with Callie at our feet. Cancer may tear apart some things, but it does bring other things together. Jaylin and I are closer because of it.
“You’ve been saying that for years,” she scolds me, and I nod.
“I promise I will,” I say. I wait for her to mention that I’ve said that a time or two, but thankfully, she doesn’t. Instead, we both take sips of our wine. When she looks over at me, I smile. “Anyone new?”
She shrugs. “You know how it is. Guys suck. Or at least the dudes I’ve been meeting.”
“Get off Tinder,” I say dryly.
She laughs. “I don’t have time to go looking for a guy—”
“Then get a dating profile. Stop with the hookups.”
She shoots me a look. “You need a hookup for sure.”
“Please,” I say, waving her off. “Why don’t you have your mom set you up?”
She snorts. “’Cause I am in no way, shape, or form ready for a Christian man. I need a bad boy. Someone who will make my mom pray for me more than she already does.”
That sends us both into a fit of laughter. “I don’t know why you drive her crazy.”
“Because it’s fun. She wants to put me in this perfect little box. Successful lawyer, seven kids, good, godly man, and a huge house. Instead, I’m sleeping around, and I skip church more than I should.” Her face is bright with happiness as she laughs from the soul. While I wish she’d calm down, I get it. She could have died from the cancer, and because of it, she’s living life to the fullest.
It makes me envy her more.
She’s living, and I’m hiding. It’s pathetic and the real reason why I wiggle out of seeing her. She makes me feel a certain kind of way. Like I’m missing out on life, when all I’m trying to do is make sure Callie is taken care of. She’s my main priority; I’ll get to me later. Unless I die a horrid death, and then it will be for nothing. That’s a truly depressing thought.
“You’re a mess,” I tease, and she flashes me a grin. “I envy you, though,” I admit, and soon, her smile falls.
“Callie is doing great, Veev. You don’t have to—”
“I know,” I say simply, stopping her. “You’ve said this a few times.”
“She’s almost seventeen. She’s not a baby. She doesn’t need you up her ass.”
I laugh ruefully. “Did she ever?”
We share a small smile. Callie has always been self-sufficient. She hardly ever cried when she was a baby, and she was always just larger-than-life. I don’t know if it’s because there is such a huge age gap between us or what, but like Jaylin said, Callie isn’t a baby. She’s almost an adult. “I just want to keep my promise.”
Jaylin smiles before covering my hand with hers. “Aviva, you’ve kept that promise tenfold. Your mom is looking down on us, and she is beaming from ear to ear. You are the reason Callie is so perfect. You’re the reason the sub shop is thriving. You’ve done it all. Now take some time for yourself.”
I lace our fingers together and cover our hands with my other. Jaylin is my best friend, the one person who knows me inside out. The one who has seen me break down and has helped me back up. I can tell her anything. And I don’t know why, but I want to tell her about Nico.
“There is this guy.”
Her eyes light up as she scoots to the edge of the barstool.
I hold up my hand to keep her from squealing. “Relax. I doubt anything will happen!”
“No, something will. You have never spoken about a guy!”
I shrug, looking away as my face fills with a grin.
“And I’ve never seen you smile like that. Tell me everything!”
It must be the alcohol, because I feel goofy. “It’s the guy I hit with my car.”
Her lashes almost pop off from how wide her eyes go. “No way. The hot red-sports-car guy?”
I laugh, nodding before taking a swig. “At first, he tripped me out by asking me out. I thought he was just being nice—”
“No. He thinks you’re hot!”
I roll my eyes. “I guess, because he’s been coming around the shop. He’s been helping Callie with her homework, and he got me a job with the IceCats, making subs for game days.”
She blinks twice, and I’m pretty certain her lashes will come off this time. “Wait.”
“What?”
“The guy you hit was Nico Merryweather.”
“Yeah.”
“Nico Merryweather, as in the star goalie of the IceCats?”
I bite into my lip. “Yes?”
She blinks once. Then twice. And finally, she starts laughing hysterically. I’m beyond confused as I watch her laugh. “Want to let me in on what is so funny?”
She looks up at me from where she is bent over laugh
ing and shakes her head. “You’ve gone from not even being interested in anyone but Mike, who was never good enough for you, to now getting the attention from Carolina’s most eligible bachelor? Girl, when you do things, you do them big.”
I shake my head. “It’s not like that at all. He’s just intrigued by me because I’m not bending over and taking it up the ass from him at the drop of a puck.”
She points to me. “Nice hockey analogy.”
I giggle, though I am pretty pleased with myself. “I actually came up with it on my own.”
“Impressive.”
“Right?” I shake my head, waving her off. “But seriously, he’s damn hot, and I wouldn’t mind. But he’ll get bored.”
“Why do you say that?”
“You know why. He’s who he is, and I’m who I am. Plus, he’s probably a titty man. I don’t have those,” I say with a shrug, but something catches her eye halfway through my sentence. Within seconds, she’s staring off to the side, and I roll my eyes as I take a sip of my wine.
Before I can turn to see what she is staring at, her eyes meet mine. “Well, sis, I don’t think he gives two fucks if you have them. Not with the way he is looking at you.”
I’m confused, and I turn in my seat just in time to see Nico coming toward me. He looks like a runway model in a crisp, expensive suit. His hair is wet and brushed back, and his face bears that smirk that makes it hard for me to form coherent thoughts. His brown eyes hold mine, and my whole body breaks out in gooseflesh. I swallow hard and notice that he is looking nowhere but at me. I brush my hair off my shoulders as he leans on the bar, that damn smirk devilishly handsome.
“Were you talking about me?”
It’s like there is a frog in my throat. “Excuse me?”
His smirk gets bigger. “Since I haven’t met your lovely friend, she sure did pick me out of a crowd and tell you I was here.”
I recover somehow. “She’s a fan and was telling me you were here.”
His eyes darken. “Or you were telling her all about me and how much you wish I were here?”
“Your head is getting bigger by the second.”
He chuckles as his eyes move down my body. “You look incredible.” I lick my lips, and he inhales sharply. “Don’t do that.”
“Do what?” I ask, confused.
“Lick those lips,” he says roughly. I swear, I think I’m going to fall out of my chair.
I look deep into his eyes. “Why not?”
His gaze doesn’t leave mine. “Makes it real hard not to kiss them.”
Suddenly, Jaylin is at my shoulder. “Please do. She really needs to be kissed.”
“Jaylin!” I scold, glancing back at her in shock, but she just shrugs.
“I don’t even care how embarrassed that makes you,” she says with no fucks to give, and I refuse to look at Nico. I know my face is beet red; I feel it everywhere. “Hi, I’m Jaylin Raventorn.”
They shake hands, though I notice Nico doesn’t look her in the eye. That’s weird. Everyone looks at Jaylin. She’s stunning and, to be honest, totally his type.
She has boobs. Boobs I wouldn’t mind punching since she thinks it’s funny to throw me to the wolves, but boobs nonetheless.
“Nico Merryweather. It’s nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she says, but I’m still fuming mad. I can’t believe she said that. Then again, she had been drinking for an hour before I got here.
“Hey, Aviva.”
I don’t want to look at him, but I also don’t want to be rude. I glance up at him, and he’s holding a beer. Where did that come from? “Yeah?”
“Seriously, you are stunning. As always.”
More heat fills my face, and that damn heart of mine skips a beat. It must be drunk. “Thanks.”
“And don’t worry. I won’t kiss you.” Why does that upset me? I mean, I knew the truth. But still. When he leans forward, his eyes dark and demanding, he whispers, “Yet.”
Chapter Ten
Aviva
“This is my buddy, Kirby Litman.”
Kirby isn’t even looking at me. He’s zeroed in on Jaylin. Of course, she notices and leans toward him, her breast on full display. She taps my shoulder, and I hook a thumb at her. “These are my boobs…I mean, my best friend, Jaylin.”
She gives me a dry look, but I shrug while Nico chuckles. She and Kirby shake hands before Nico bends to ask me, “How do you know her?”
“We were next-door neighbors growing up.”
“Nice. All my close friends like that are back in Canada.”
I lean on my hand. “That’s where you’re from?”
“A little town outside of Quebec City. My mom and grandparents are still there. Though, I bet my mom wishes I’d let her live here.”
“Why don’t you?”
He shakes his head. “You know how you are with Callie? Times that by a hundred, and that’s my mom. So overbearing.”
I try not to be offended, but of course I am. “You think I’m overbearing?”
He shakes his head quickly, holding up a hand. “Not at all. You’re protective and make sure things are good for her. My mom does that and then some. She calls my trainers and doctors…and I’m twenty-seven.”
I grin. “I think I’d love your mom.”
He scoffs. “Don’t play. My mom would love you. She likes strong women who work for what they want. Know how they want things.”
I feel a little light-headed, but in a good way. “You think that about me?”
He nods. “Fuck yeah. I’ve never met anyone like you.” He takes a long pull of his beer. “The last girl I was with came from money. She never knew what hard times were. Don’t get me wrong, she was strong as all shit and badass. She was smart and awesome, but she wasn’t self-made, in my opinion. You are.” He laughs. “I could be being an asshole about her. She chose some other guy over me.”
I can’t help but think she isn’t that smart, but to each their own. I notice Nico watching Jaylin, and when he looks back to me, he grins. Before I can ask about the girl from the past, he says, “Based on how she’s dressed, I would say she doesn’t look like your type of friend, but I’ve never had the privilege of seeing you like this.”
I hold out my hands. “Get your fill because tomorrow it’s back to shorts and tees.”
“Will the shorts be short?” Nico asks with a devilish gleam in his eyes.
“I’ll pull them up when you come in.” Whelp, it’s possible I’ve had too much wine.
“Such a tease,” he says, waggling his brows at me, and I laugh.
“That’s the wine talking.”
“Well, please keep drinking,” he jokes before ordering another beer and a glass of wine for me. “How’s your night going? I know you don’t like coming out. Since I’ve asked, and you’ve turned me down.”
I giggle as I glance over at Jaylin to see her getting to know Kirby. Nothing is holding her back. She’s having a blast, and I want that. I meet Nico’s gaze again, and it’s nice to see him somewhere else. Callie isn’t here…I’m not running my livelihood. I’m just a girl in a bar, in a skirt that is making it real hard to breathe.
Or maybe it’s all Nico.
“It’s okay. I don’t know how to be out. I’m used to being home and running shit.”
“Well, for someone who doesn’t know how, you’re doing a damn fine job,” he says, glancing around. He looks nervous, which is funny to me. He’s gorgeous, and all the girls in here are checking him out. While he does stand out in his elegant suit, it’s also that he is just so big. Shoulders thicker than boulders and a body that is a dream. I bet he looks real good naked. Wow, I do need to slow down on the wine. “Have I told you how hot you are?”
I try not to grin as my face heats up. “It’s the dress—”
“Nope, it’s you.” I hide behind my wineglass, and he laughs. “I’d say dress like this all the time, but then when I come in for a sub, I’ll be fighting off all the guys. That would be bad for
business, and then you’d hate me for running off your profits. So, I’m gonna need you to wear a bodysuit at work, a loose one, maybe one of those baggy onesies, and then this when you’re with me.”
I snort with laughter. “With you?”
He shrugs. “Yup. Don’t know if you are aware, but this moment? It’s ours.”
My heart is pounding in my chest, and I’m sure the wetness in my palm isn’t from my wine. “How so?”
“Things are about to change for us,” he says, and those eyes are so dangerous. They travel along my body as he takes a long pull of his beer.
“Change?”
“Yeah. This is the moment we decide if we want more.”
Lord, he makes me breathless. “Or we could just be hanging out.”
He nods. “That’s exactly what we’re doing. Getting to know each other so that you can decide if you want to pursue me. Which I’m all for since I really want to pursue you.”
I can’t fight my grin. “Is that right?”
“You know it’s right. You knew from the moment you ran your car into mine.”
“I was concussed.”
He flashes me a devastating grin. “Or completely overwhelmed by my sexiness.”
I can’t help it. I snort with laughter, like, from my soul. I am laughing as I shake my head. “You’re crazy.”
“I try,” he says, leaning on his elbow as he finishes off his beer.
He signals for another one, and when the bartender brings it over, he says, “I’ll add it to your tab, Nico.”
“Thanks,” he says as he takes a swig, yet his eyes stay on me.
My eyes travel along Nico’s face, and I sense he’s doing the same to me. Maybe this is our moment. That sounds so silly, though. “Do you come here often?”
He curves his lips. “Only when I know there is a gorgeous girl here.”
“Who are you here to see?”