Sheer, white lace, constructed into a low-cut, short, flowy dress made the dress daring. I’d worn a thin slip under it and nothing else. It wasn’t my typical vintage style, but I wanted to make a statement for the moment I showed up at Dominic’s house. I’d even curled my hair into a huge, sexed-up mess and done smudged makeup. With my jewelry and heels on, I felt like a million bucks. Physically.
Emotionally, I was panicking. On the inside, I was in four-day-old sweats and a cheese-dip-stained t-shirt. I was doing what I wanted to do. Being with them was the only option that felt okay for me. That didn’t mean I wasn’t a mess of nerves, though. I was going to walk to Dominic’s house and panic the entire time that they’d somehow changed their minds.
What I hadn’t expected was getting to the end of my driveway and seeing Logan pull up. I shook my head at him when he opened his door. I had to go. I’d taken a long time getting ready and I wasn’t showing up late to Dominic’s. I needed them to know that I was serious.
“I’m on my way out, Logan. Get back in your car.”
He ran his eyes over my outfit and fell into step next to me. “Where are you going? You look great.”
I looked both ways before crossing the street. “I’m going to a friend’s house.”
“Hang on a second, SJ. Can we talk first?”
“I can’t. I really don’t have the time right now.” I cursed my stupid car and love of walking through Dad’s neighborhood. I didn’t have the time or focus to deal with Logan.
“Fine. I’ll just walk with you.” He smiled like nothing was wrong between us. “You really do look amazing. What kind of friend is this?”
“Logan, I don’t want to talk to you.” I tried to be direct, hoping that would be better.
“Come on, SJ. We had a little fight, but that doesn’t mean we can’t hang out. You know we both need more friends.” He spun around and walked backwards in front of me. “Although, it seems you made another friend. A special friend, judging by that outfit. Can’t say I’m not a little jealous.”
I turned onto Dominic’s street and breathed a sigh of relief when I saw his house. I just wanted to get away from Logan and to my men. “I’m serious, Logan. I don’t like what happened the other night and I don’t want to hang out with you.”
“Don’t be like that. It was just a mistake. I read the signs wrong. It won’t happen again, SJ.” Even as he said it, he was staring at my chest. “Unless you want it to.”
I didn’t want to lead Logan to Dominic’s house so I stopped one house before his. Staring at Logan, I tried to be as clear as possible. “Listen to me. I gave you a chance to be a friend. You fucked up. You made me uncomfortable and you hurt my feelings. I don’t need another friend that badly, Logan. And this? Following me while I’m trying to go somewhere and have asked you multiple times to stop? It’s creepy. So, please, do me a favor, and go back to your car.”
His eyes narrowed a fraction and his smile turned down a few degrees. “You used to be fun, SJ. Even before you put out, you were still down to play around. This version of you sucks.”
I glanced up at Dominic’s and fought the urge to run for it. “That’s fine. I suck. Great. Don’t hang out with me. Do yourself that favor, Logan.”
He stepped toward me, closing the distance between us. “Who put you on this high horse? You think you’re hot shit now? I’m just trying to be a nice guy and keep you company. You seemed pretty sad when we talked. I don’t need this shit from you.”
Getting pissed and feeling the clock tick past eight, I raised my voice. “Logan! I just don’t want to be your friend! You crossed a line the other night and you’re crossing another one now!”
He blocked my path when I tried to walk past him. “I crossed a line? By trying to kiss you? Jesus, this shit is ridiculous.”
“Hey! Back the fuck up!” Dominic’s voice boomed through the neighborhood, making Logan flinch. “Touch her and you’ll lose more than you can afford to, asshole.”
I breathed out a sigh of relief and rushed to Dominic’s side. The fury on his face was very real, but I smiled into his chest as I wrapped my arms around him. He was there, waiting for me.
“We’re just talking. What’s your problem?”
Barrett came walking past me and Dominic, his large body tense. His face was calm, too calm. He didn’t stop until he was standing directly in front of Logan, just like Logan had done to me.
“When she fucking says she wants you to go away, you fucking go away. Do you understand me? If you didn’t understand it when she said it, maybe it’ll make more sense coming from someone bigger than you. Go back to wherever you came from and don’t come near her again.”
“Chill out, man. I was leaving, anyway. Fuck this.” Logan turned and jogged away, not looking back.
Barrett turned to face me, his eyes still angry. “You’re all in?”
I nodded. “Yes. I’m all in.”
I barely had the words out before Barrett had me over his shoulder, carrying me up to Dominic’s house with his hand over my ass. He landed a firm slap on it that made me squeak from the shock of him being the one to do it. All I could do was wrap my arms around his waist and hold on as he stomped along.
“We’re going to talk about you walking through the neighborhood in this dress. Then, we’re going to talk about you being late. After that, we’re going to talk about you not walking directly to the front door when that asshole didn’t fuck off when you told him to. And then, after all of that, I’m going to rip this dress off you and fuck you through the weekend.”
I lifted my head and met Dominic’s eyes as he walked behind us with a grin on his face. It was like they’d done a body switch. Barrett had gone caveman on me.