by Emma Hart
Noah shrugged. “We were trying to control the betting circle Reagan and Halley had set up.”
“Yes, yes, the infamous Lucky’s betting ring. The game is about to begin, and I know you can’t see the screens from here, so scoot.” I waved my hands, shooing them away from me.
Chuckles rose from all of them, and Noah winked at me as they all disappeared, leaving me in peace.
Well, as much peace as a twenty-something woman could get in a sports bar when it was football season.
Not a lot, to be honest.
Luckily, the game meant the bar was packed, and that meant my shift went quickly. I’d started at three, so by the time the game was over, so was my shift. I finished the order I was ringing up and pocketed my tips, then headed out the back.
The guys were all still here, and that meant I was going to have to drive them home. How did I know that?
Preston and Noah had decided that two weeks ago. Unfortunately for me, my Friday shift never changed.
I tucked my tips into the inner zip portion of my purse and dug my keys out from the abyss, bypassing two tubes of Chapstick, six receipts, an empty gum packet, a phone lead, a pocket mirror, a bottle of nail polish, a travel-sized tube of toothpaste, a sock, and a Chinese take-out menu on the way.
I really needed to clean out my purse.
My keys jingled as I made my way to the front of the bar and to the guys’ table. They were all done, and both Preston and Noah grinned at me as I approached.
“Come on, Cinderella. Your ride awaits,” I said dryly, waving my keys at them.
Ethan raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“She takes us home every Friday. It’s payback for the dancing night.” Preston grinned.
I stared at them flatly. “I’m leaving in ninety seconds. If you’re all not in my car by then, you’re walking.”
I’d barely taken five steps when the sound of four chairs scooching across the wooden floor broke through the chatter of the bar. I snorted to myself and pushed the door open to step outside.
Dim lights illuminated the parking lot off to the side of the bar, and I paused to hit the button on my key fob. The lights of my car flashed, brightening the parking lot, revealing the crumpled-up body of someone against the dumpster.
I froze.
Someone walked into my back.
I screamed, stumbling forward, and two hands landed on my arms to steady me.
“What?” Ethan’s voice was right behind my ear, and I knew it was his hands on my arms.
“There’s, um, someone on the ground.” My voice was weak and shaky. “In front of the dumpster.”
“Oh, shit,” Noah said, jerking to life. He ran past all of us, his firefighter training kicking in, and yelled, “Call nine-one-one!”
I was shaking like a leaf. My keys clattered to the floor, and Ethan bent down to pick them up while Leo stepped under the streetlight and dialed.
Sure.
Halley fed raccoons.
Reagan’s apartment burned down.
I found what was probably a dead body.
Sounded about right.
My teeth chattered even though it wasn’t remotely cold whatsoever. It was far too warm for eleven o’clock at night in late October, actually, but that didn’t stop my entire body trembling as if it was below freezing.
Preston tugged me out of Ethan’s arms and pulled me against his side, but before I could croak out a thank you, Ethan was on the other side of me.
I was in a hot guy sandwich.
I’d been in worse places.
Like in front of a dead body.
Why did these things always happen together?
I was delirious. I had to be. This was the only reason why I wasn’t shoving Ethan off me like he was a rat full of fleas carrying the Black Death. I needed the feeling of both of them on either side of me to ground me.
I mean, I was watching Noah perform CPR.
All I could think of was that it was a good thing I was sober. If I’d been drinking, I’d probably have run headfirst into a tree trunk by now.
Or a car. Or oncoming traffic.
I was a panicker, okay?
I panicked. Panicking was my thing. It was probably due to the fact I was only just making enough to pay my bills and live without starving at least one day a week, so I constantly panicked about not being able to pay said bills.
I also panicked about being hungry because, well, I liked food.
Blue lights bounced off the walls. A crowd had now gathered outside the bar, full of nosy, half-drunken patrons who wanted to see what was going on. The Creek Falls police department arrived swiftly and took control of the situation, keeping people away so that the paramedics could attend to the…
Body?
God, that was morbid, wasn’t it?
I mean, I didn’t even know if she was dead. Noah giving her CPR was a pretty good indicator, but people came back around after CPR all the time. There was every chance she was still alive.
Oh, look, there was the tiny spark of optimism that occasionally came out.
Noah came back over and wiped his face with his t-shirt. “She’s unconscious but alive. They’re taking her to the hospital now, but the police want to talk to us quickly.”
I nodded, hugging myself tightly. I was still sandwiched between Ethan and Preston, but I shook them both off. I couldn’t breathe squished between them, and honestly, if I stayed pressed against Ethan for much longer, there was every chance I wouldn’t be able to peel myself away again.
We were interviewed one by one. There was nothing to tell; we’d all left the bar and stumbled upon her when Noah had done CPR. After three rounds of questioning, we were finally let go and told we could go home.
It’d been an hour. The fastest hour of my life.
All I wanted to do was shower and climb into bed. I’d never been so thankful to have a Saturday off work, that much was for sure.
My car had relocked itself at some point during the events of the last hour, so I hit the button once again. I opened the driver’s side door, but Ethan plucked the keys out of my hand before I could get in.
“What the hell?” I rounded on him like a rabid wolf and made to snatch them back, but he held them high above his head where I couldn’t reach them.
“You can’t drive,” he answered.
“Of course I can drive!”
“He’s right,” Leo said. “You just got one hell of a shock, Ava. You’re still shaken up.”
“You’re the ones who have been drinking. You’re definitely not able to drive,” I shot back.
Ethan held up his other hand. “I only had two beers over several hours and I ate. I’m fine.”
I looked at the others. They all nodded, and honestly, I knew they were right. I’d kept half an eye on them all night—nothing to do with my crush on Ethan, thank you very much!—and it was true.
Two beers and a big-ass burger. He was fit to drive.
I ground my teeth together. I wasn’t happy about handing Ethan my keys, but I was outnumbered four to one. I was also outsized. All four of the guys were well over six-foot and looked like they ate muscles for breakfast.
Honestly, if one wasn’t my brother, the other two weren’t my best friends’ boyfriends, and I didn’t love-hate the last one, this could have been the start of a porno.
Thank God it wasn’t. All the gods, actually. Pagan, Roman, Greek, Buddhist…
“Fine.” My tone said it was most definitely not fine.
Out of spite, hormones, or just downright female indignation, I slammed the door and stormed around the other side and got into the front.
Ignoring the chuckles from the guys, I buckled myself in and set my purse on my lap, staring straight ahead.
They all piled in, Ethan in the driver’s seat and the others in the back. It looked like a tight fit back there, and sure, I could have offered to sit in the middle, but why would I do that?
The jackasses took my keys.
; Never mind that I probably was too shaken to drive.
It would have been nice to be asked.
Ethan backed out of the parking space, almost hitting the police tape that’d been strung up, and turned out of the parking lot.
I almost dug my phone out of my purse, but I honestly didn’t want to explain what’d happened tonight. Noah and Preston would do that, and I’d answer the questions tomorrow.
There were no cars on the road, so our trip was fast. Ethan drove first to Halley’s house to drop off Preston, then to Reagan’s, where she and Poosh were both waiting for Noah. Leo only lived a couple of blocks from Reagan’s apartment, and he leaned forward and kissed the side of my head in goodbye before he got out of the car.
Then, we were alone.
It was at least a five-minute drive back to my—our—apartment. The air in the car was tense, and I shifted uncomfortably in the seat to look out of the window.
“You okay?”
“Fine.” My tone was clipped, and guilt immediately took hold. “Sorry. I’m tired.”
“Don’t worry about it. It’s been a long night.” He hit the stick for the blinker, and the clicking filled the car in the ensuing silence.
I swallowed.
I was a hot mess inside. I was tired yet wide awake. My brain was running like a well-oiled engine, turning over and over the events of tonight, but like the stupid-ass woman I was, the thing it came back to was the moment I was sandwiched between Preston and Ethan.
I couldn’t care less about Preston. I wasn’t attracted to him in the slightest, despite a fleeting thirteen-year-old crush. Twenty-five-year-old me was far more mature.
As evidenced by the fact I couldn’t look Ethan in the eye, lest I snuggle myself up against his side again.
Jesus, a woman could have died tonight, and all I could think about was how it felt to have his arm around my shoulders.
This was fucked up.
I was fucked up.
I needed a vacation. Or to move. Or to tell him to move, as had been my plan in the first place.
Tomorrow.
I’d do it tomorrow.
Yup. That was my story, and I was going to stick to it.
Tomorrow.
Jesus, if I said that again, I’d break into song like Annie.
Ethan pulled into the designated parking spot outside of the apartment building. As soon as we got out, he handed me back my keys. I locked the car and immediately rushed inside, taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
He waited for it, but I beat him to the apartment. By the time he joined me, I’d dumped my purse on the sofa and was heading for the bathroom.
I paused and turned around, my hair flicking over my shoulders. “If I see that hedgehog in the living room when I wake up tomorrow, you’ll be the one needing an ambulance.”
Then, I locked myself inside the bathroom and turned the water up to the hottest temperature I could bear.
***
HALLEY: OMG ARE YOU OKAY??
REAGAN: Noah told me what happened. Do you know????
HALLEY: AVA, WAKE UP
REAGAN: SERIOUSLY, WAKE UP NOW
HALLEY: Goddamn her night owl ways.
REAGAN: We aren’t all morning people, Little Miss Up And At ‘Em.
HALLEY: I’m sorry for being someone who likes to get stuff done early.
REAGAN: I’m surprised you’re not going to run for President. You’d start and finish a war before breakfast.
HALLEY: You’d be the first sacrifice.
It was too early for their shit.
Way, way too early.
ME: I’m fine, thanks for considering your upcoming takeover of the USA before you let me wake up.
I grabbed my phone and stumbled into the kitchen. My first stop was the coffee machine. Just because Halley was a morning person and liked to have me get up and run at seven-thirty didn’t mean I was one myself.
I was more of a roll out of bed, throw on some clothes, drink a liter of coffee, and hope I didn’t murder anyone kind of person.
The coffee machine was like a comfort blanket as it whirred to life, but the blinking of my phone distracted me from my morning best friend.
REAGAN: Well, it’s about time.
ME: It’s nine-fifteen. You’re acting like it’s three in the afternoon.
HALLEY: I’ve already done laundry, gone for a run, and opened the library.
ME: Nobody likes a bragger, Halley.
REAGAN: At least we know who’s going to die first when the zombies attack.
HALLEY: You two, because I’ll be one in an underground bunker with enough canned food to last three years.
ME: Screw that, I’ll join them. Then take you both with me. #BFFs
HALLEY: Stop hashtagging in texts.
REAGAN: OH, SHIT, HERE COMES THE HASHTAGS. #TeamZombie #ZombieQueenAva #SayNoToCannedFood #ZombiesDigToo #WeWantBrains #WeAreComingForYou
ME: You’re ridiculous.
HALLEY: This whole thing is ridiculous. Why haven’t we deleted this chat yet?
REAGAN: We haven’t bet on Halley sleeping with Ethan yet.
ME: Fuck yourself.
HALLEY: Even I think that’s unlikely.
ME: I won’t eat your brains if I become a zombie, Hals.
REAGAN: You’re going to live with him and not sleep with him??? Really???
HALLEY: We should probably bet on the likelihood of her murdering him first.
ME: I’ll put ten bucks into that.
REAGAN: You can’t bet on yourself.
ME: Since when was that a rule?
REAGAN: Since I just made it.
HALLEY: You can’t just make up rules, Reagan.
REAGAN: Sure I can. She’s either going to murder him or she isn’t. It’s the same logic as sleeping with him. She’s not going to half fuck him, is she?
ME: How would you half fuck someone?
HALLEY: Just the tip.
REAGAN: *finger pointing emoji*
REAGAN: Just pretend they wiggle
ME: …I think I’m done with this conversation.
HALLEY: Fifty bucks says she won’t screw Ethan.
REAGAN: Fifty bucks says at least the tip.
ME: I think it’s time for new friends.
CHAPTER FOUR
* * *
ETHAN
Roommate Warfare
My cock was as solid as a rock.
Burying my face into my pillow, I rolled over so I was half on my side and half on my stomach. It meant my cock was half-crushed, but it was better than the fucking alternative right now.
Two nights.
I’d slept in this apartment for two fucking nights, and I’d woken up twice with a hard-on.
Whoever thought living with your best friend’s hot as fuck little sister was a good idea was a goddamn idiot.
It was a shit idea. The worst idea I’d ever had. Not that it had been mine—it’d been Leo’s. Why I’d ever listened to that prick was beyond me. I didn’t believe for a second that the only apartment he could find was a one-bedroom place. My sister had shown me two two-room places, after all, but they were both out of my price range as a solo renter.
Leo only went for the one-room place because the girl he wanted to date lived in the building.
Since my grandma had moved in with my parents, there was no room for me there, either.
Which left me living with a stupidly attractive woman. The exact person I couldn’t do anything about. It wasn’t like I could act on my attraction to Ava. She was my best friend’s little sister.
She was the one woman in the world who was off-limits to me.
Leo had never said that. No. He never would, but I had respect for our lifelong friendship. The day I’d agreed to this, I’d sworn to myself that I wouldn’t lay a single finger on the raven-haired, snarky-mouthed, curvy-hipped woman who was now my roommate.
Then I’d walked in, and she’d murdered me with one look.
And it’d just made her even hott
er.
Which was why I was lying here with a raging hard-on.
I reached for my phone and pulled up the latest baseball scores. I couldn’t give a flying, screeching fuck about baseball, but I needed to think about something other than Ava.
I scrolled.
And scrolled.
And scrolled.
But it was fucking useless.
It didn’t help that I’d held her against me last night. That I’d tucked her into my side to stop her freaking out and her curves had molded against my body.
Fuck.
This wasn’t going away.
Just like it hadn’t yesterday morning until I’d gotten into the shower and taken an unhealthily long cold one just to get rid of it.
I couldn’t do that this morning. Ava was already awake—her coffee machine was as loud as a herd of dinosaurs, and there was no sleeping through it. If I went into the shower and spent twenty minutes in there, she’d get the wrong idea.
The last thing I needed was a tongue-lashing from her about jerking off in the shower.
She bitched at me about enough as it was.
Which wasn’t really a bad thing. The more we bickered, the less chance there was of anything else happening.
Which was definitely not a bad thing.
I rolled onto my back and shut my eyes. If this erection didn’t disappear in the next two minutes, I would have to do something about it.
Seriously. This shit was ridiculous. I wasn’t fucking fifteen.
I was nearly fucking thirty.
I’d done my time where uncontrollable erections were concerned.
I counted to fifty, but no. My cock was still hard, throbbing against my boxer briefs. I had no other option. I had to get rid of it myself.
I slid my arm beneath the covers and slipped my hand under my boxers to grasp my cock. It was hot and hard in my grip, and I moved the waistband of my underwear so that I could move freely.
Flexing my fingers, I got comfortable in my grip and moved my hand from the base to the tip. I fisted it furiously, grinding my teeth in desperation to get rid of it.
It was like tugging on a rope.
Nothing was happening.
I froze, squeezing my eyes shut.
Shit. There was only one way this was really going to disappear, and I already hated myself a little bit for what I was about to do.