Losing it, p.5
Losing It, page 5
“He and James were frat brothers.” Kristen’s words had that bright well isn’t this a coincidence tone. “And former roommates, apparently. How ironic, right?”
“Like, crazy ironic.” Tori gave her a sly smile. “Bet you’re glad now you didn’t tap that last night, huh?”
“So glad.” Kristen glanced back outside, watching him through her lashes.
Blake made his way into the house, and from across the room, she could see the hard line of his clenched jaw. His gaze moved deliberately to her, and her stomach did a little flip. Her pulse began to thud harder when he didn’t immediately look away.
A moment turned into forever. And then he finally cut the connection and turned to go grab a burger.
Fortunately, Tori had missed that little exchange and was busy typing something in her phone.
Kristen pressed her hand to her neck and found her pulse still fluttering.
Something surprisingly close to disappointment settled in her chest, and her eyes widened in realization. No. She shouldn’t be disappointed. And she’d repeat it a million times until she believed it.
This was about losing the V. Plain and simple. Blake was off the table, so she’d find another guy to fill the role tonight.
Chapter Five
“What’s gotten into you? You look like someone spit on your burger.”
Blake startled and glanced up at James, who’d come up behind him. He forced a smile and gave a shrug.
“Nah, just got a lot on my mind.”
Like your sister.
“I hear you. My brain is nothing but legal shit. You’re lucky to be done with all your training.”
Blake gave a small nod. “You’re almost there. A year from now this stress will be a memory.”
James grimaced. “Right now, it feels about as abstract as you promising me a money-shitting unicorn.”
“Nah, if I had one of those suckers, I’d keep it for myself.”
“Yeah, you would, selfish prick.” James grinned. “You must be off tonight?”
“Yeah.”
“Those twenty-four-hour shifts seem brutal.”
“I like them. More time off, less hours spent commuting. I work tomorrow, but then not again until Thursday.”
“Nice.” James glanced out of the kitchen to the living room. “I see my sister brought one of her friends.”
Blake refused to look over that way but grunted. “You know her?”
“Met her a few times when they were in high school. She seems all right.”
The slight note in James’s tone had Blake giving him a closer look. Oh yeah, James wasn’t immune to just how hot Kristen’s friend was, either.
He hid a smile and brought his friend back to reality. “So, where’s Hannah?”
James blinked, and his face reddened slightly. “Uh, out playing cornhole. I think.”
Blake glanced behind him out the sliding glass door and, in the growing darkness, spotted Hannah and Eric playing the game together.
She laughed at something Eric had just said and nudged him with her elbow in the side. Even from inside the house, Blake didn’t miss the way Eric watched her with a kind of goofy look on his face.
Damn, but sometimes Blake swore Eric was crushing a bit on James’s girl. He hid it pretty well, but being more of the silent-and-observative type, Blake had picked up on it.
The way Eric stared a little too long. The way he got a little awkward when talking to her. There were signs if you were looking.
James, however, seemed to be blind to it all. Maybe a good thing? For their friendship, at least. That had the potential to be a total shit show.
“You should join them,” Blake tried to suggest casually. “Get outside a bit.”
“Yeah, that’s not really my kind of gaming.” James gave a dismissive shrug. “Eric bought them on clearance last fall for the house. Glad someone is getting some use out of them.”
“Hey, James, we’re going to take off.” The soft words had them both turning around.
Kristen and her friend stood beside them.
Blake narrowed his eyes. She’d been here, what, an hour tops? Her friend even less time.
“Already? Guess you got things to do and people to see.” James hugged his sister. “Thanks for dropping by, kid.” James’s gaze slid to Kristen’s friend. “Good to see you again…”
“Tori.” The other woman stuck her hand out and shook his hand, her eyes glittering with amusement.
“Right.” James’s cheeks colored slightly.
Guess it was a family thing. Last night, he’d noticed Kristen did that blushing bit, too.
“Where are you two off to?” Blake asked, the question anything but innocent.
Kristen’s gaze swung to him, her eyes hard. “Oh, you know, just hitting U-Village for some shopping.”
He wasn’t buying that for a minute. Kristen was on the prowl, looking the way she was. And she’d already told him about her plan for the week.
“Hey, James, can I use your bedroom to change my clothes before we go?” Kristen asked.
“Go for it. First room on the right.”
“I’ll keep you company.” Tori followed after her.
The two women turned in unison, heads together as they moved to the back of the house.
“Something’s going on with her,” James mused. “She’s been acting weird since she got here.”
Blake bit back a hard smile. If his brother only knew half the truth. “You know how girls get.”
“Maybe. I guess I just worry.” James went to grab a beer. “Probably too much. I’m a little overprotective, but Kristen’s just on the sweet and naïve side.”
Yeah, Blake had spent enough time with her to pick up on those traits. Especially the naïve bit.
A couple of minutes passed before James shook his head.
“Actually, Mom wanted me to ask her about a Memorial Day gathering. I’d better go do that before I forget. Be right back.” James turned toward his room.
James walked down the hall and raised his hand to knock, but he never did.
Premonition kicked in Blake’s gut, and he kept his gaze trained on his friend.
James lowered his hand back to his side and leaned forward, his head cocked as if listening. A few seconds later, his head reared back, and he stumbled away from the bedroom before turning and striding briskly back down the hall.
James shook his head, his jaw hard and his eyes sparking with anger and dismay. “Dude, you’re not even going to fucking believe what I just heard.”
Ah hell.
A cold sweat broke out on the back of Blake’s neck.
Please don’t let her have been talking about last night.
“Yeah?” He tried to keep his tone casual. “What did you hear?”
“Kristen is on the hunt for a one-night stand.” James’s jaw flexed. “For what is apparently her first time.”
And there it was. His friend knew everything—or, God, hopefully not everything—and Blake hadn’t even had to say a word.
The door down the hall opened, and they both turned to watch the two women step out of James’s bedroom.
Blake sucked in a swift breath.
The two women were dressed to the hilt in tiny dresses and high heels and were making a beeline to the front door, clearly hoping to be unobserved in their exit.
The roar in Blake’s head was from all the blood leaving and heading to his dick. There wasn’t much cute about Kristen. Today, she was sexy as fuck.
“What the hell?” James muttered. “Are we supposed to believe they’re going shopping dressed like that?”
Blake grunted, unable to tear his gaze away from her. “Well, you know exactly what she’s shopping for now.”
James punched him—not lightly—in the arm. “Shut the hell up.”
“They’re probably just hitting up a bar. There’s no guarantee she’ll find anyone.”
“Looking the way they do?” James’s scowl grew. “They will.”
Yeah. They will.
Blake kept his thoughts to himself. This was officially James’s problem now.
“People go to bars to get drunk or laid. Or both,” James grumbled.
“Not always.”
James had never been into the clubbing or bar scene, so his view on it was pretty low. Then again, he’d been attached at the hip to Hannah since they’d been teens. It probably wasn’t much fun when you could look but not touch.
“Look, just let it go.” Blake shrugged. “What are you going to do, follow them all night?”
James paused, his gaze turning, considering.
“Ah, no.” Blake’s gut twisted. “I was joking, man.”
“Look, I’ve gotta wrap up this barbecue first, but you could follow them,” James said urgently. “See where they’re going, and maybe keep an eye on them? Make sure they don’t get into too much trouble?”
Blake’s blood started to pound as he watched the two women sitting in the car outside the house. It looked like they were touching up their lipstick now.
He closed his eyes and tried to envision the night. He could imagine Kristen and all the guys that would be all over her if she started flirting. She’d be in over her head like a poodle in the middle of a pack of pit bulls.
Unease swelled in his gut, but there was another emotion, too. An irritation about her mission that made his throat tighten. He didn’t want to analyze that too much.
Maybe if he did this for James, it would smooth things over with Karma.
“Fine. I’ll do it.”
“Really?” Relief flared in James’s eyes.
“Sure. I need to hone my stalker-slash-James-Bond skills anyway.”
“Thanks, bro. I owe you.” James punched his arm. “You know I’d do the same for Mabel.”
At the mention of his sister, Blake’s stomach twisted again with guilt. He tried to imagine James or any of his other friends making a move on Mabel, and it made his vision red.
Which was why last night’s incident with Kristen still left him with a mix of disbelief and anger. You just didn’t touch your friend’s sister.
“I’ll slip out the back door so they don’t see me.” Why not? Since he was going full-on spy mode here.
This was a bad idea. Why had he agreed?
“Hey, text me when you figure out where they went.”
“Will do.” Blake dug his keys from his pocket and hurried out the back door.
He hustled to his truck parked on the street a few cars behind Tori’s little Toyota. By the time he started his engine, they were pulling away from the curb.
Five minutes into trailing the other car, Blake was ready to call it off. This shit was hard, and there really wasn’t going to be a payoff.
Finally, the little red car parked in a pay lot downtown. Blake cursed, trying to figure out if he should circle the block and see where they were going or find a parking spot, too.
A loading zone appeared in his line of sight, and he whipped into the illegal spot and kept the motor running.
In his rearview, he watched the two women climb out of the car and walk toward a line of bars and restaurants across the street.
Tori walked in easy, confident strides like she owned the road while Kristen teetered behind her looking as if she’d never worn heels a day in her whole life.
He shook his head, amusement pricking. The humor died when he realized where they were heading.
“Don’t go in the Rusty Nut,” he muttered. “For fuck’s sake, don’t go in there.”
And they went in.
Blake’s sighed and grabbed his phone and texted James.
They’re at the Rusty Nut.
James replied a few seconds later.
Seriously? It’s, like, a guaranteed STD just by going inside. Plus it has shit beer. WTF are they doing there?
Blake let out a dry laugh and shook his head. Finding Kristen’s one-night stand. James didn’t need that reminder.
Do me a favor? Go in and keep an eye on them? Don’t let her go home with some douche.
“Oh, come on!” Blake yelled at James’s text.
He should say no. The idea of following the two women into the club sounded about as fun as visiting the dentist for a root canal. Not to mention Kristen would kill him if she figured out what he was up to.
But then the visual of her flirting with some sleazeball—maybe even sleeping with him—had his stomach clenching.
He lowered his head to the steering wheel, knocking it against it a few times.
“It’s your fucking day off, Blake,” he reminded himself.
He grabbed his phone and stabbed out a reply.
Fine. But you owe me.
He was doing this for his friend. That was literally the only reason. There was a tiny part of him that argued with that rationale, though.
Blake turned on his signal and swung out into traffic. First thing, he had to find a real parking spot.
*
“Wow.”
“‘Wow’ what?” Tori glanced over her shoulder.
Kristen forced a bright smile and tried to move faster to keep up with her friend. “I know you said this was going to be kind of a meat-market-type place, but I didn’t exactly expect this.”
The only light that filled the seedy bar came in from one window up front. While walking in heels was already a challenge, having her shoes land in a sticky substance she’d rather not analyze made it even more difficult.
A big, burly bouncer stopped them a few feet inside the building. “IDs, and it’s a ten-dollar cover.”
“I have to pay to go in here?” Kristen squeaked.
Tori shot her a hard look.
I’m basically forking over money to get laid. Kristen swallowed a disbelieving laugh.
“We have a band in an hour.”
“I’m sure they’re great.” Tori gave the bouncer a smile that usually made men stutter and blush. She touched his bicep. “We’re just here for a couple of beers and might not even be around by the time the band goes on. You sure we can’t just skip—”
“It just went up to fifteen apiece.” The bouncer folded his arms across his chest.
“You can’t do that,” Kristen blurted before glancing at Tori. “He can’t do that. Can he?”
Tori ignored her and slapped a ten and a twenty on the counter, grabbed Kristen’s hand, and whisked her past the bouncer stand.
“Trust me, this is your place,” she whispered. “Five minutes in here, and you’ll have, like, ten guys begging to go home with you.”
A prickle of nerves slid through her, and she looked around the bar. Sure enough, it was packed with guys. Some a little sketchier looking than others, but still.
Picking up a guy here suddenly felt far more intimidating and colder than meeting a guy at a party. She thought back to last night and how excited and certain she’d been when she’d zoned in on Blake. That same rush was notably absent.
“Let’s go to the bar.” Tori led her to the bar and sat down on one of the stools.
Being a good eight inches shorter than her friend, Kristen struggled to get onto the stool. She had to grip the wood bar and practically fling herself up.
Damn short-people problems. Tori was all legs and didn’t know how good she had it.
The minute Kristen made herself comfortable in her seat, she felt it. All the eyes that were honing in on them.
“They’re watching us,” Tori murmured under her breath. “Only a matter of time.”
“Before what?”
“Can we buy you ladies a drink?”
At the low male voice, they both turned to find two men standing behind them. The pair looked to be in their mid-twenties. They wore T-shirts and jeans and unzipped hoodies.
Seattle techies. Kristen would bet a beer on it.
“That’d be great—thanks.” Tori pulled out that smile again, and this time it worked. The two men practically fell into the stools next to her.
The hotter guy—if they could be classified as hot—took up residence next to Tori, while the shorter one took the empty seat next to Kristen.
“I’m Lee. What are you drinking?”
“I’m Kristen. Vodka cranberry would be great.”
“We don’t have cranberry juice,” the bartender quipped from nearby.
“Oh, bummer.” Lee gave her an apologetic look. “How about a vodka and Coke?”
Because they were totally the same thing, right?
She gave a small smile. “Sure.”
“And I’ll have a PBR.”
Of course he would. Her lips twitched.
“You from around here?” he asked.
She didn’t want lots of details this time. She wanted sex. Plain and simple.
“Yep. You?”
“Yeah. Moved out here for a job at the ’Zon.”
“’Zon?”
“Amazon.”
“Oh, right. I should’ve known.” God, she really didn’t want to do this small-talk stuff.
She accepted her drink from the bartender and cupped it in a way that pressed her arms together, amping up her cleavage.
“You guys here for the band?” Lee’s gaze slid over her, lingering on her breasts.
It worked!
“Umm, yeah.”
Tori rose from the stool and caught her gaze. She nodded toward a booth in the back before disappearing with the other guy.
It hit her then that she had no idea what Tori had planned. Would she hook up with a guy tonight, too?
Don’t worry about that yet. You’re on a roll. Keep it up. Flirt.
She crossed one leg over another, flashing bare thigh.
His gaze followed. “I hear they’re really good.”
More progress.
“Yeah.” Say something flirty. She struggled with what to say before she blurted, “Heavy metal bands turn me on.”
Really? That’s what you’re going to say?
She wanted to kick herself until she realized it might’ve worked.
He looked taken aback. His eyes widened before narrowing again, and a slow smile crossed his face.
God, men were easy.
“Yeah?” He reached out and trailed a hand down her bare arm. “That’s hot.”
“Mm-hmm.” His touch did nothing for her. Why wasn’t it making her tingle, damn it?
