“I’m so getting you back for that,dear.” I glared.
She just smiled sweetly, raising her eyebrows. Oh. No. Direct challenge provoked. I grinned, and her smile faltered. I grinned wider, content with her worry, and then turned back to Brent.
Hmm.
A thought.
I almost laughed out loud, wondering if it would work.
I felt around for my shirt and found it hanging over the arm of the couch. Somehow I managed to get it on without flashing anyone. Getting up was the real issue. I pulled out from under Brent…and tumbled from the couch onto the debris surrounding it.Ouch!
How he got there so fast, I hadn’t a clue, but Cole was somehow helping me up from the ground and shielding me as I made sure my shirt covered all of my private bits. I tugged on my hair and blushed, mumbling, “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he said quietly, bringing my boots over without having to ask.
He was bent down, putting them on me when I noticed the room had gone quiet. Again. With one foot in the air and a hand on Cole’s back for balance, I peeked through my bangs. Zane had turned around in his chair, gun and clothe in hand where they lay on his thighs while he stared with what I could only call a thoughtful expression lurking in his dark eyes. Stash had a fork halfway to his mouth – yes, mouth open for the bite, but he looked like someone had pressed the “Pause” button on him. Caught in mid-motion, he watched Cole tie my boot. Ally’s lips were twitching as she glanced from Cole to me. She bit her lip.
“I got it,” I offered Cole, reaching down, but his frosty gaze met mine. I kept quiet after that. He was angry. It was hidden well. But, it was there. If he wanted to tie my boots, more power to him.
When he finished, he straightened. Uneasily, I slowly looked way, way,wayup. I felt like an itty-bitty child standing next to him. We watched each other in silence. Me warily, and him inaccessible, before he turned and walked back to the recliner and sat down, opened his laptop, and began pounding again. I decided to ignore everyone’s stares, as he had. It worked for him. So, it might as well work for me.
“Stash, can I borrow your plate?” I tucked a stray strand behind my ear.
“Why?” he countered.
“To wake sleeping beauty up.” I rolled my eyes. Duh. As if I could eat anything right now. I turned to Ally. “I’ll need the bag, too.” Just in case.
Luckily, they didn’t argue, handing over the items amiably.
“Sure you want to do that, sweetheart?” Cole inquired, voice of emptiness, squinting to see something on his screen.
Go figure. The only one, who had inkling of what I was up to, was him. He was too shrewd for his own good.
“Yep.” I shrugged. I didn’t have any better ideas.
He grunted and kept reading. Cuddly, he wasn’t at the moment.
“What’s she going to do?” Stash munched on a piece of bacon he had plucked from his plate before I had taken it.
“I think it’s safe to assume you won’t want your food back,” Cole murmured and smiled at Stash.
Oh.Mmm. I swayed toward him and stumbled. The man had a great smile.
Wait.
My eyebrows burrowed.
Stash got a darn smile? Well, that certainly put me in my place. Not that I hadn’t already understood he was angry, but heck. He could be halfway polite. The conditions of our fun timeon the balcony had only been a one off. Nothing serious. No need to be rude the next day.
Well, I didn’t have time to dwell on his incivility. I needed to deal with Brent.
I cautiously made my way back to the couch, drums beating Satan’s symphony inside my skull. I didn’t really want to fall again and I wasn’t all that steady on my feet to begin with. Especially, since I held the plate as far away as I could. And held my breath.
By the time I got there I was dizzy from lack of oxygen and had tripped three times. I was probably still a little drunk. How lovely. It appeared I had consumed enough tequila to save some for the next morning. Too bad the effects were never as pleasant as the night before.
I needed to get rid of the food quick so I could breathe.
I kept a good grip on the trash bag and positioned the plate of torture on the couch, right under Brent’s nose. I took a step back, gulping in a lung full of much needed air, and waited. I wondered how long it would take. I started counting in my head.
