All I had to do was hang tight, keep still and not do a foolish thing. How hard could that be? I was sure there were tons of women who had resisted Grey before… I mean, I did it when we were in middle school, but I supposed that didn’t count—his sex appeal had quadrupled since then. However, I was a confident woman who had a good sensible head on her shoulders, so yes, I could easily tackle this. Right?
Uh uh, my mind retorted back with mocking annoyance. I would never forgive myself if I gave in to him. I would ruin my future that I had carefully thought and planned out. Liam was my future. I shouldn’t forget that. Not even for a guy who had the most tantalizing tiger eyes.
I was still in bed, not willing to move as I went through my emails. When I was just starting to write one to Liam, Josie barged in with coffee and blueberry bagels.
“Sorry about last night. I couldn’t make it.” She gave me an easy smile before placing the mouthwatering items on my side table. “Heard you had quite the rumble.”
Ugh, fucking Edith, where did I begin with her? That girl seriously had some major issues to plow through. “To this day, I don’t get why she hates me. It should be the other way around, me hating her for being such a slut, but no, no, no. She just has to be a bitch about everything.”
“Seriously, it’s not like you lost your virginity to your friend’s love of her life, right?” she smirked at me before pulling out a delicious bagel and took a large bite. “This house is trashed by the way. And for some reason, this section of the house—I had no idea that it could be sectioned off—I couldn’t go past here without Grey’s permission.”
Sectioned off? Like… “Locked in?” I whispered, half-sitting and now very awake.
She nodded before licking the cream cheese off her lips. “Yep. Some creeper tried to come in here last night. Thank goodness this house was built with good security. This was supposed to be the nursery section or something and the divider’s supposed to keep the noise out.”
No wonder I slept well. Even with the ongoing noise from the backyard, it was barely noticeable. The idiot made sure I slept well. It was nice, but… “What if there was fire and he was passed out drunk, what then? I’d be charbroiled by now because I fucking couldn’t escape.” These damn large homes and their weird shit… though what Grey did touched me. Not admitting that in front of Josie, though.
“You and Gavin. Spill.”
Our date was fun. Different. “He’s not all that bad. Although…” I lingered, needing to fine the right words to describe how I felt about him because all I could think about right this moment was that intimate encounter I had with Grey in the bathroom. Those tiger eyes were lethal.
“He’s no Liam, right?” She took a sip of the coffee then handed it to me. “Liam’s filet mignon and Gavin’s like beefsteak.”
I snorted, shaking my head. This woman loved to compare food with men. “Something like that, yeah.” Cradling the cup in my hand, I eyed her. “What happened to you last night?”
“Brandon came by.”
Her weakness with legs. “Damn it, Josie! You said you wouldn’t. He’s not going to change. The man fucking cheated on you with his ex. Several times.”
She flinched. Her sunny aura just took a dim, looking conflicted. “I know. It’s hard to say no to him, Liv. I’m still in love with him, you know. It sucks ‘cause he knows that.”
No, I wouldn’t let her be his doormat. She was worth more than that. My Josie deserved to be treated like a queen and not some unimportant girl on the side. “Fuck it. I’m going to find you a man. To hell with Brandon and his sweet talk that always gets to you.”
“Don’t think another guy would love to date with a girl that’s crazy about another man,” she muttered before giving me a hug. “I have to go because my parents are waiting for me at home. See you Monday?”
“You have fun on that trip and be safe.” I hugged her back. Her family was going to visit her grandparents in San Francisco. Hopefully, by Monday, I would have spotted the guy to hook her up with. Brandon and his lame sleazy self should be kicked to the curb.
Pulling over a light sweater over my cami and shorts attire, I grabbed the bottled water and took a long sip from it and then walked out of my bedroom barefoot. The plush carpeting was heaven on my sore toes from walking on four-inch heels last night. Descending down the stairs, I didn’t realize how much clutter was there until I reached the living room and kitchen area. The only thing I could be happy with was that there were no people around here passed out drunk or anything. Apart from the mess, the house was quiet.
“Why didn’t anyone clean this shit up?” I thought out loud with a large frown on my face.
“The guys are coming over to clean up before the barbeque tonight,” a voice boomed behind me.
When I spun around, I was greeted by muscled chest with defined ridges. My mouth ran dry.Fuck me. Those abs were killer last night in my drunken haze, but in daylight, they were fatal to my eyes. Staring into his tiger pools with my reaction now would seriously put me into a heady coma. Licking my bottom lip, I turned around and took a deep breath before heading towards the fridge to get something to drink.Boy, was I parched…
“Are you in some sort of pain?” he asked, sounding strained and yet gentle to my ears.
Pain?The only thing I could think of that needed doses of medication was my mind. It was taking me into a sexual plethora of hallucinations and I needed something to whip me back to my old self. I used to applaud myself for having great sense of control, but when he was around, I was a stupid mess—mentally and sexually.
“I’m fine. Thank you for last night,” I said, not looking at him before popping the lid of cranberry apple juice.
“Yeah.”
Taking a sip of my drink, I felt my heart skip a beat when our eyes clashed. Swallowing the juice that was now stuck in my throat felt like I was gulping a ball made out of sand. I wanted to say something funny to break this weird vibe we were sending each other, but that thought process came to a halt when I moved towards the French doors leading to the backyard and towards the pool house.
Five minutes later, I heard the roar of his engine driving out of the driveway.
It was only ten in the morning.Where the hell was he going?I wondered. Irritation came afterwards thinking that I let myself get so caught up with his ins and outs. Honestly, why did I care so much anyway?