Leaning over the center console, I place her silky hair behind her ear. “Good, then I guess I don’t have to kill him in front of you.” She gasps. “Until then, he wouldn’t mind if I do this.” I place my nose close to her neck and smell her skin. I can feel how fast her pulse beats beneath. Her skin breaks out in goose bumps and I smile slightly, trying not to wince because my lip is swollen. Lucy can avoid me and hate me for what I did to her. But she still wants me. Deep inside, I know Lucy will always belong to me.
“I miss you,” I whisper.
She tries to pull away, but I hold her gently by the back of her neck. My lips still close so she can hear me.
“Go out with me. I want to take you out.”
“That is not a good idea.”
“Why?”
“You know why,” she spits.
She is getting angry and the strategist that I am, I know not to piss her off. Especially since she has agreed to go on a date with someone else.
“I’m not going to stop asking so clear your calendar because I’m gonna take you out. It’s been awhile and we can’t constantly be at each other’s throats.”
“Why don’t you ask Gloria, she’s more your type.”
My lips find the place right behind her ear and I give her a soft kiss. “I’m not interested in taking Gloria out. I want to take you out like I have always done. That is never going to change.”
“What is never going to change?” she asks.
I pull away with my handle on the door. I open it and slide out, closing the front passenger door and opening the back to retrieve my gym bag. Before I close the door, her head turns to look at me. The interior light of the car illuminating her beautiful face. “The fact that no matter what, I will always want you and have no interest in Gloria. That will never change.”
Chapter Eight
Lucy
“He told Colton,” I tell Khalani and Linda while we’re alone on the back patio.
The party is in full swing and I’m three shots in. I feel great and feel a light buzz coursing through my veins. Aiden is making sure people behave in the house because they are drinking. He has also been by Khalani’s side the whole night, making sure a guy doesn’t think she’s available. College parties can get out of control. Throw alcohol into the mix and lines get blurred as liquid courage takes over.
“Shit,” Linda and Khalani say at the same time.
“What did Alex say when he texted?” Linda says in a low voice.
“He was cool with it if I was allowed to date whoever. We can hang out and just take it slow. He just found out I existed and said he would tell Aiden.”
“That’s Alex. Doesn’t like the lines to be crossed and shit to get messed up,” Khalani says.
Linda places her tattooed arm over my shoulder. “I think you should tell Alex about Mason.” My eyes widen. “So he can prepare. In case they cross paths and you are in the middle. He will see right through Mason with the way Mason looks at you.”
“What do you mean, the way Mason looks at me?”
Khalani chortles. “Mason looks at you like he wants to take you to the nearest room and fuck your brains out. It’s more obvious with the strain you both have on your relationship. When you guys hung out and were close friends, you couldn’t tell all that much because you grew up together. But now, that man wants to put you inside a cage with him in it.”
“He has his hand. He’ll be fine,” I deadpan.
Linda and Khalani laugh. An annoying giggle filters inside our little bubble. I turn my head, and the smile on my face falls. The slight buzz from the last shot I drank dwindles away as my eyes train on Gloria. She has a red cup in tow, and she turns with her small-sized breasts almost spilling out in her little skimpy dress like she is trying too hard. The back door opens, and the Kings walk out. My head turns to Linda and Khalani, who are watching Gloria walk up to Mason and place her hands on his muscled chest. I can’t help but admire the way he looks in his fitted Armani polo. I wonder what he ever saw in her, but looking at Gloria with her hands all over Mason, I can see that she is petite where I have bigger breasts, wider hips, and a bigger butt. She has blonde hair where I have dark hair. I can see the appeal; she is classic and I’m not. Gloria has the girl next door thing going on in suburbia and I don’t. He can tell me he isn’t interested in her, but her hands are on him and he doesn’t swat them away or reach out and remove them. He just stands there and plays it off.
“Stop it, Gloria. Quit fooling around and go back inside,” Mason says.
If a guy was not interested, he would make a point and tell her to not ever touch him again. Aiden walks up to Khalani and kisses her on the forehead, wrapping his hands around her waist. Linda glances at me and then back at Gloria.
“Come on, Mason. Who gives a shit? Let’s go to your room,” Gloria says, pressing herself against Mason, making her blonde hair sway.
Mason glances at Leo, Leo is watching quietly against the wooden pergola in the dark. “You’re playin’ with fire,” Leo tells him.