“You think what he said was true?” Her voice grows faint as she looks past me and straight through the wall into the mindfuck of a rabbit hole we’ve bothfalleninto.
“No. The guy was ravenous with jealousy last night. If anything, the opposite is true. Seeing the two of us together lit a fuse in him that is a long way from extinguishingitself.”
She nods, giving a hard sniff. “I figured it was all an act.” She blinks back tears. “I mean, we weren’t perfect, but we had moments. We said words to one another.” Her gaze begins to drift onceagain.
“Anytime you’re up for setting the dude on fire, I’ll lend you my lips.” I give a cheesy wink without meaning to and an awkward silence springs up betweenus.Crap.
“I think you’re on to something.” She gives a little shrug. “It really seemed to piss off that skankaholic that stabbed you in the heart. I couldn’t get her mice-like screams out of my head. I mean, is a voice that helium-inspired even natural?” She shakes her head in disbelief and I give a quick laugh. Janelle comes from a long line of high-pitched squeakers, her father strangely enough being the highest of them all. It’s unnerving to see a two hundred fifty pound grown man with the face of an ox come at you with the voice of a cartoonmouse.
“It was the first thing I noticed about her.” I wince into the admission. “We were at a party and I thought she was drunk. I thought no way could that voice be real. She’s putting me on. But she wasn’t—until she was.” I point a quick finger toHarper.
“Ha-ha. I see what you did there.” A smile drifts from her face before it ever fully arrives. “So, you mean what you said—aboutthelips?”
“Hell yes.” I bounce my knee to hers a moment. “In fact, if you want to take it a step further, we can set them up. We can cling to one another like koala bears whenever they’re around.” The thought sends my dick throbbing and I try to shut it down. It’s been about a month since it has seen any real action, and now that I know what I do, it makes me sick that it had any actionatall.
“How about we do one better?” She leans in with those cutthroat eyes, skin like light brown sugar, and those lips, those hot lips that I can’t seem to look away from. “How about we declare one another our most favorite rebound and show up those two social media whores when it comes to hogging all theattention?”
“You and I?” My dick ticks again likeabomb.
“Yes.” Her eyes grow wild. Harper’s entire body lights up with the proposal. “We’ll go all out, no holds barred. You and I lighting up Hollow Brook like the hottest new couple.” Her voice hums the words smooth as velvet. Harper leans in close until her warm breath tickles my lips, tempting me to take one more bite. “And then at the end of the summer, we’ll have a classic blowout in front of God and all of our near and dear peers—including the guests of honor of this littlecharade.”
“A blowout.” My perverted mind heard blowjob, but I’m pretty sure that’s one thing that she’s not about to generate in front of God and our nearest and dearest peers—but perhaps she might entertain the thought loosely if the guests of honor werenearby.
A crooked grin comes to my lips. “Judging by the mortally wounded reactions we garnered from the two of them at the bar, I think this just might be what we need to finishthemoff.”
Harper’s indignation pours off her like fumes. “I hope they deep fry in the hell we’re about to dish upforthem.”
I reach over and take her tiny hand in mine, and instinctively my thumb rubs over her palm. “Theywill.”
Something tells me Iwilltoo.
* * *
Harperand I exhaust ourselves going over the MLS listings in the Hollow Brook-Jepson area. Next week, we’re to propose an entire list of homes that Ryder and Laney Capwell might be interested in based on the specs they’ve given us. But that kiss we shared is still stuck in my head as I head home, and sure enough, I forget to hit the drive-through, only to find an empty fridge waiting for me—so I do the only thing a single guy can do—meet his friends atthebar.
Rex is the first friendly face I see as I step into the Black Bear, and his girlfriend, my new stepsister, is right there with him. Rex and I have been rebuilding our relationship steadily over the last year. Back when Mom and Dad split, it felt like he took Dad’s side, and Trixie and I took our mother’s. But since Mom’s wedding, it seems like we’re crawling closer to where we used to be. Rex and Scarlett, the aforementioned new stepsister, are dating. Suffice it to say, it still feels a bitweird.
“Returning to the scene of the crime?” Scarlett laughs as if she told the funniest joke. Her dark red hair shimmers in the light, and from this angle it looks a lot likeHarper’s.
“This would be it.” I grimace over at the spot where I was accosted with molten hot beans and cheese. “You didn’t happen to witness the event,didyou?”
Rex gives a disgruntled grunt. “Let’s just say we’ve got friends in high places. Areyouokay?”
“Yeah. Hell yeah.” I give the back of my head a quick stroke. “A shower took care of it.” I meant the lava-hot enchilada sauce, but on another note, I also made sure it took care of that hard-on Harper sponsored. It was a one-off. I’m a guy. Kissing a girl like that can only lead to one outcome in my primal mind. I’m not giving myself a hard timeaboutit.
Rex shakes his head at me, dismayed as if he heard the ex-rated version I just spouted off. “I meant with the breakup. Trixie says it was brutal. You found Janelle kissing some dude at amixer.”
“I’m sorry,” Scarlett mouths. “I swear, if it’s any consolation, she’s not worth your time. I know for a fact when things smooth over, you’ll have girls beating downyourdoor.”
“Speaking of girls.” Rex cocks his head in that big brother way that used to make me cringe as a kid. When our mother went away to prison, that eleven-month stretch that felt like ten long hellish years, Rex stepped in to help parent Trixie and me. “Who the hell were you playing tonsil hockey with? My buddy, Cole, the bartender, said you were going at it hot and heavy before you were baptized with the nightlyspecial.”
I give the bar a quick scan, and when I don’t see a sign of her, it feels like a green light. “Harper Shelton, she’s just a friend.” The pit of my stomach ropes off in a knot as if I just slung a lie my big brother’s way. “It turns out, it was her boyfriend that Jen was going at it with.” I slap the back of my neck like I’m killing a fly. “Apparently, they had been at it formonths.”
“I’m sorry, dude.” Rex gives my arm a light sock. “I’m glad you’re at Briggs, though. And I’ll be damn glad to see your face on the field. You know I’m yourbiggestfan.”
“I’m right there with him,” Scarlett offers while holding onto his arm. “I can’t wait to see you on the field in September.” She wrinkles her nose a moment. “It’s going to be a long, hot summer, though. Do yourself a favor and stay away from that poor Harper girl. The last thing you want to get involved with is a quick summer fling. You’re vulnerable. You’ve both just been through something that has thrown your worlds off their axis. I can see how it would be easy to fall into something with her. But I think it’s for the best you cool your jets for awhile.”
“She’s right.” Rex gives my shoulder a quick squeeze. “Take the summer to focus on football, on yourself.” He nods into the establishment. “Come on. We’ll buy you dinner. We’re meeting upwithTrix.”
