Think Twice

by Stephanie Rose

  She leveled her dark eyes at me. “Damn straight. We’re going to do everything we can to get you back on that fire truck, but you’re going to have to do exactly as I say for as long as you’re here. No arguments. Got it?”

  My cock twitched in my pants at little Dani Marsh giving me an order. The fire and determination in Danielle’s dark eyes pinned me to the table. I forgot the little girl I used to know and believed every word she said. Her lips flattened into a hard line—full, smooth lips that I bet would soften with a flick of my tongue …

  Loneliness and sexual frustration couldn’t get in the way of my end goal: getting up and walking the hell out of here. Sure, she was a beautiful woman who would be in my daily proximity, but her hands would only be on my leg. My other extremities would have to accept that.

  “Got it, Dani. Or is it Danielle, or Ms. Marsh? I wouldn’t want to be in trouble on my first day.” My own eyebrow quirked. Jesus, was I flirting? Seriously? What the hell was happening to me?

  “Dani or Danielle is fine, although no one besides Kyle calls me Dani anymore.” A soft smile washed over her face before it faded. Her hand hovered over my ankle again, this time, another inch higher. “See if you can reach my hand. We’ll do a set of five reps; go as slow as you need to. We’re looking for form, not speed, here. Remember that.”

  “When can I get up and walk?” The words falling from my lips gave me a little relief. I was still an impatient jerk, and if I really was getting back on that rig, I needed to hold on to that.

  “When I say you can. Let’s go, on my count …”

  Fuck, she was hot. And I was in trouble.

  4

  Dylan

  “Hey, Dylan.”

  I smiled before I even replied to Jack’s greeting. Sure, it was only two words, but they were devoid of all the agony and most of the frustration I’d heard from him in the past month since his accident. His sister told me I could give him a call, but I figured I’d wait a day to make sure. I’d bet the Garcias were all over him, and the last thing I wanted to do was add to the hovering.

  “Are you almost chipper, or am I imagining shit?”

  A hearty laugh rumbled over the line, and a heavy weight lifted off my chest. I’d grown up an only child, but Jack was my brother in all the ways it mattered. Almost losing him and watching him descend into a self-loathing, pity spiral had been brutal, so the tiny lilt in his voice set off some hope that maybe he was finally on his way to a real recovery.

  “I don’t know about chipper, but at least I feel like I’m working toward something, you know? Instead of being the sad sack stuck in the corner of my parents’ couch. The therapy is rough, but that’s what I’m here for, right?”

  “Yep, your dad said they’re gonna kick your ass. I should come up one day and see if they make you cry or puke.”

  “You would too, asshole. You’ll never guess in a million years who my therapist is.”

  “Is she hot? Is that the reason why you aren’t an ornery bastard now?”

  “Yes, she is. And, no it’s not,” he snickered. “You know her, too. Remember Kyle’s little sister, Dani?”

  “Braids, coke bottle glasses? She’s your hot therapist?”

  “Dude.” His voice dropped to a rasp. “No glasses, no braids. All lean, curvy muscle. When she examined me, I checked her out before she told me who she was. And even after, I still couldn’t help myself. I feel like a douchebag, panting after my friend’s little sister.” He burst out laughing “You know what I mean?”

  I knew exactly what he meant, but wouldn’t say a fucking word. Thankfully, he hadn’t noticed the sudden silence on my end.

  “Do you think that’s a good idea? She’s your therapist, and you’re—”

  “I’m not anything. I don’t exactly have the best game as it still takes me fifteen minutes to maneuver into the bathroom and take a piss. And after Marina, it’s going to be a long time before I even attempt anything with anyone, even after I get both legs back. She’s nice … and nice to look at. That’s all.”

  “I stopped by your parents’ house yesterday after they dropped you off. PJ said to call you since you didn’t ‘spit out your words, at least for the time being.’”

  “Of course, she did, little shit.” He let out a long, audible sigh. “I put them all through hell. You should have seen my sister’s face when I snapped at her. She let me have it, and if I wasn’t already laid up, Dad would have kicked my ass, and I wouldn’t have blamed him. I can’t believe she’s eighteen today.”

  Neither could I. She was eighteen, gorgeous, and legal. But still my best friend’s sister, so none of that mattered. Although I denied it to myself, I’d waited for this day for two years despite knowing I wouldn’t be able to do a damn thing about it.

  “She said she was going to a club tonight.”

  “Yeah, she told me when I called earlier. Dewey’s in Westchester. Remember that place?”

  My blood ran ice cold. I sure as hell remembered that place. It was the brick and mortar version of Tinder.

  “You’re okay with that? Jack, you know what that place is like.”

  “My sister is tiny but mighty. No one’s messing with her. That’s why I was never afraid she’d get kidnapped. They’d bring her back ten minutes later after she gave them a fucking headache.” Again, I stayed silent as he laughed.

  “Still, Jack. You know the element that was there back when we went. I bet it’s a hundred times worse now.”

  “She’s going with a big group. Riley, and I think a couple of guys they know. There’s live music, and she loves to dance. She’s my baby sister, but I can’t be everywhere—especially now. So, what’s going on with you? Jeannine still trying to slither back?”

  “Not for a while.” I peeked at my watch. Eight o’clock. If memory served me right, the action started there around ten. Was I actually thinking of going? To what? Stew in the shadows as I watched PJ and her friends? See her dance and laugh, and God forbid, be with another guy. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to handle it if someone touched her. Although I’d kept it hidden, my obsession with her ran deep—so deep, it was driving me to madness.

  My stepfather had given me a loan to start my own construction company, and I’d thrown myself into work over the past two years to pay him back as soon as possible, even though he’d told me to consider it an investment rather than loan. My friends teased me for being a workaholic, but that wasn’t why women were never a priority to me. I’d dated, but never cared enough about anyone to view them as any more than a temporary distraction.

  As much as I’d fought against it, my attention was on the freckled beauty across the street.

  Like a stalker from my window, I’d watch PJ get into her car and drive to school or laugh on her front stoop with her friends. She was so damn beautiful, sometimes I’d have to rub away the pinch in my chest. When she confessed her feelings for me, I stepped way back. I had no choice. The already overwhelming temptation doubled knowing she felt the same, although it had been obvious before she’d ever said anything. The heat in her dark eyes when I’d call her “Patricia” always thinned the air between us to the point I gasped for breath.

  When she’d laugh at a dumb joke I’d made, I’d want her even more. Even her laugh was sexy—squeaky, but throaty. Now, the glances I’d steal were all I had of her, and no matter how much I hated it, that’s all I would take, all I could take. Wanting my best friend’s sister was all kinds of wrong, but, fuck me, I couldn’t stop. Whenever PJ was in my line of sight, I had to shove my hands in my pocket because my fingertips tingled with the need to touch her. I yearned, fucking yearned, to sift my fingers through her auburn hair, trace the delicate curve of her jaw, cup the back of her neck and kiss her, tasting those full red lips that drove me to total distraction. I’d bet she tasted as sweet as sugar, and my mouth watered to feast on every part of her. I’d run my hands all over her petite, curvy body until she cried out and came apart in my arms.

  But, that cou
ldn’t happen. As I recited the reasons why in my head, a nagging little voice kept asking, “Why not?”

  I’d almost let myself consider it for a beat before it would all barrel over me. The canyon of years between us was a huge factor. Maybe, in time, it wouldn’t matter, but for right now, PJ and I were from totally different worlds. She deserved to have the carefree college life I’d had, and saddling herself with a twenty-six-year-old construction company manager wasn’t exactly living it up. And even if I could force myself past that, Nick, her dad, would skin me alive. He’d always treated me like family, but PJ was his baby.

  To add to all of that, our mothers were best friends. The both of us and our mothers were a family before Nick even came into the picture. Before PJ was born. Thinking of my best friend, and a man I’d looked up to as a second father, hating my guts always had halted any ridiculous thoughts of PJ and me being anything more than distant friends.

  “I’ll let you get some rest. Maybe I’ll come up over the weekend? Only if you’re up to it.”

  “I’ll be up to it. Be good to see your ugly mug.”

  I muttered a quick goodbye and hung up, right before grabbing my keys and heading out of my apartment and into my truck.

  It was a bad idea, and I was taking the risk I’d fought like hell to avoid.

  But there was no way I could stop.

  5

  PJ

  “You’re gonna miss me … admit it,” Riley sang over the pulsing base before she nudged my side.

  My eyes rolled before they met her sarcastic, but sad, gaze. I looped my arm around her neck. “Nope, I won’t miss you at all, because I’m not leaving,” I whispered into her ear. Riley jerked back so hard she nearly fell off the seat next to me.

  “What do you mean you’re not leaving? That’s all you’ve talked about for months. Moving across the country, getting away from he who will not be mentioned.” Her brows shot up as she gaped at me.

  I let out a long sigh and shook my head, more at myself than my best friend. “Is that really getting away from him? He’ll still live across the street from my parents and be Jack’s best friend. I haven’t told anyone but … I’ve been sick about this for weeks. I never even sent in the forms.”

  “PJ, why didn’t you say anything. You couldn’t even tell me?”

  I lifted a shoulder. “Saying it out loud was admitting it to myself. And I was too stubborn to do that.”

  “Shocker,” she gasped, clutching her chest in mock horror. “You stubborn?”

  I huffed and nudged her ankle with my heel. “If I run from him now, I’ll be running forever. One day, I’ll look across the street, and I’ll feel nothing. That day won’t be for a long time, but I’ll hang in there until it does.” I exhaled a long, cleansing breath, feeling for the very first time I was making the right choice. “San Diego is nice, but I always wanted to go to school in Manhattan. So, sorry Riles, but I’m staying put.”

  Riley leaped from her seat at our table and tackled me with a hug. “I’m so fucking happy. You have no idea!”

  “Um, Riley, I can’t breathe,” I tapped her shoulder until she loosened her grip around my neck.

  “I’ll even go with you to those museums you love so much sometimes. Even the creepy one.”

  I crossed my arms and sat back. “MOMA? You said some of the exhibits gave you nightmares and I couldn’t drag you there ever again.”

  She gave me a reductant nod. “They did, but when I wake up at three a.m. and text you freaked out, you’ll be here! In the same time zone!” she squealed.

  I spotted Liam laughing behind her shoulder. The group we came with already scattered all over the dance floor, but I’d felt Liam’s eyes on me since we’d arrived. I was polite and friendly toward him but couldn’t give in to his attempts at flirting. But now, when his lips curved as my gaze slid to his, I didn’t have that itch to flee his presence. Maybe this was progress.

  A salsa beat I recognized blasted through speakers, and my shoulders moved along with the music. I rose from my seat to pull Riley onto the dance floor.

  When Liam extended his hand to me, I stilled for a moment.

  “Come on, birthday girl. Dance with me.” He smiled wide, and I couldn’t help returning my own grin. Flying across the country wasn’t necessary to start a new life, I only needed to get out of the prison that was my own head.

  Tonight would be the start of my escape.

  “Is it like this?” Liam’s attempt to shift his hips and mimic a salsa move was so damn adorable, a giggle tumbled from my lips.

  “Hey, you don’t have to laugh at me.” His mouth twitched as he tapped my chin with his knuckle. “Maybe we could just sway a little? That way, the huge disadvantage I’m at isn’t so obvious.”

  “Disadvantage?” I crinkled my nose before taking a step back.

  “Well,” he whispered into my ear as his arm slid around my waist, pulling my body flush to his, “I’m already dancing with the most beautiful girl in the place. She’s got all the right moves, and I have no prayer of keeping up. I wouldn’t want to embarrass her on her birthday.”

  My cheeks heated under the sweet sincerity in his gaze. I actually liked him, maybe even felt the stirrings of a spark. I was determined to give this sweet guy a real chance. So what if his hair was blond instead of inky black? Who cared if his eyes were icy blue instead of the warm hazel that liquified my limbs with every glance they spared me?

  Spared me…because I was just a little girl.

  For fuck’s sake, PJ—get that asshole out of your head for a night.

  I’d only just started this new empowerment journey, so I’d allow myself one mental slip. I was fed up with grieving the loss of something I’d never had to begin with, but old habits die hard.

  “You aren’t embarrassing me.” I smiled at the relief ghosting across his face and pulled him closer. “We could sway.” I shrugged as I craned my neck to meet his eyes. Liam was a cute, nice guy, and I basked in his undivided attention.

  “You are so beautiful. But I’m sure you hear that all the time.” We stopped dancing as Liam’s eyes locked with mine, the blue of his irises dark and full of want. His hand slid to the back of my neck as he inched closer…and closer. I spied Riley over his shoulder giving me a wide smile and an overenthusiastic thumbs up.

  “Not really,” I finally breathed out, the ease of our clunky salsa forgotten. His lips missed brushing mine by half a centimeter when my head jerked back on reflex.

  Liam’s face fell, and my stomach turned. He didn’t deserve this, to be a stand-in or someone’s second best. Everyone would be exactly that unless I changed my damn perception.

  I cupped his cheek and gave him a sad smile. “You’re very sweet. And I think you almost had a nice salsa on that last sway.” My attempt to change the subject was mistaken for a green light. My eyes bugged out when his lips landed on mine.

  His lips were warm and sweet, nice. Not exactly Fourth of July fireworks, but I didn’t pull away. He cradled my face and gave me a shy, hopeful smile. So hopeful, my throat closed, and I sputtered for air.

  “I’m thirsty,” I squeaked out, still struggling to find the oxygen to make words. “Can I get you something?”

  His forehead creased as he studied me. It wasn’t a bad kiss, and it deserved a better response than, “I’m thirsty.” But just because my head was turned toward the right direction didn’t mean it was screwed on straight yet. Before I gave Liam a true chance tonight, I needed a minute.

  “I’m good, PJ. I’ll wait for you at the table.” He kissed my cheek, and I managed not to flinch.

  My heels clicked along the tile as I came over to the crowded bar, looking to chug some water and get back out there. The bartender noticed me right away, his dark eyes raking over my body. I could ignore the skin crawling on my neck if he would serve me quickly.

  “And what can I get you to drink, pretty girl?”

  “Just w—”

  “She’s only eighteen. She can’t d
rink.”

  A gruff, yet familiar voice answered for me.

  Dylan fiddled with a beer bottle as he sat at the edge of the bar, glaring at me with a sour expression I couldn’t figure out.

  “I was only getting water. Not that it’s any of your business if I drink.”

  “I suppose it’s not.” He shrugged before taking a long pull of his beer, his irritated gaze still leveled on me. “And I suppose it’s not my place to call out the shitty judgment you have tonight.”

  “Excuse me?” I clipped as I came closer to where Dylan sat. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  His chin jerked in Liam’s direction. “You let him put his hands all over you,” he growled, his eyes tracking my body with a feral possession that made not one bit of sense.

  “We were dancing. He didn’t have his—wait why the hell do you care? You don’t even speak to me. Now all of a sudden you care who puts his hands on me?”

  “He kissed you.” Dylan’s nostrils flared as his jaw ticked. He’d always been easy going and aloof, never raising his voice in all the years I’d known him. Even when he was obviously avoiding me, he was polite, if distant. Now, he was being a straight up asshole.

  “And why the hell are you even here? Jack said you guys hadn’t come to this place in years—oh my god! Did Jack send you to spy on me?” I raked my hand through my hair, the hair I’d spent two hours on for a night out that was turning to shit before my very eyes.

  “No, he mentioned you were coming here and…” he trailed off, his eyes flashing as they darted everywhere but mine. “I needed to make sure you were okay—”

  “Leave me alone, Dylan. For once. Have mercy on me, and leave. Me. Alone. Pretending you care is cruel. The one thing I never thought you were. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”