I shrugged. “That’s the only Ripley I know.”
Codie’s brows knit together in a tight frown. “How did that happen? I don’t need details. I’m just surprised, I guess.”
I knew that I might be in trouble here. Especially when Stray found out. He’d warned me off Ripley. We were both consenting adults though, and we had a great time.
“Some guy was hassling her at the party, so I stepped in as her fake boyfriend. We did some ecstasy after and had fun.” I accepted one of the mugs of coffee she’d poured with a nod of thanks.
“Well damn.” Codie shook her head, her black ponytail bouncing from side to side. “I’ve got to say, I’m shocked.”
I laughed out a puff of weed smoke. “Why? Do you think your girl is too good for me?”
“No, it’s not that. Ripley has expressed her concern toward Storm, Luna, and me about getting involved with dangerous men. I never expected her to change her mind about that.” While stirring cream and sugar into her coffee, Codie stared off, perplexed.
I splashed in a little cream and too much sugar before chugging back half my cup. I didn’t see what the big deal was. Maybe Ripley had developed a taste for danger. Maybe she’d stopped being so damn uptight and let herself have some fun.
Not that it mattered. I was only her fake boyfriend. Not her real one, and I preferred to keep it that way.
Stray strolled into the kitchen then, his black hair damp from his shower. He accepted the coffee that Codie held out to him, leaning in to press a kiss to the tip of her nose. Making me roll my eyes as I fake gagged.
He flipped me a middle finger, doing a double take when he noticed the bruise on my neck. “What happened to you? Looks like your latest conquest took a bite out of you.”
“You should see my back. That chick was crazy.” I laughed around the joint between my lips while poor Codie cringed.
“Please stop,” she begged, clutching her coffee mug tight between both hands. “Don’t use the word conquest. He was with Ripley last night, Stray.”
Stray’s eyes momentarily widened before narrowing into slits as he glared at me. “Does that mean I have to kick his ass?”
I scoffed. “What’s the big deal? Why does Ripley need the two of you to be her bodyguards?”
“She doesn’t,” Codie was quick to say. “I just don’t want to see her become another number to you. She’s better than that.”
Strangely enough, I agreed. The thought of any other guy using Ripley to get his rocks off before tossing her aside made me want to break the bones of this imaginary guy. I wasn’t sure what that said about me. I wasn’t sure I liked whatever it said about me.
“We had a fun night. That’s all it was for both of us.” As an afterthought, I added, “If it makes you feel any better, I tried to get her to stay this morning after we woke up, and she refused. Practically ran out the door in her haste to get away from me. I don’t think you need to worry about her.”
Remembering the way Ripley had run out this morning left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Was that rejection? I’d never had anyone fight so hard to resist me before. At least it had been a struggle for her. I saw how badly she wanted to give in.
“Rebel called a few minutes ago.” Stray thankfully changed the subject. “He’s on his way over. You and I are going with him to collect that payment Jerry owes us. Rebel wants to catch him before he gets a chance to take off again.”
I rubbed a hand over my face and up into my hair. “I think it’s time to cut that guy off. This is the third time he’s held out on us.”
Running the type of business we operated often meant encountering people who were less than honest. People whomade promises they never kept. They learned all too quickly that we weren’t the kind of guys you wanted to fuck with.
“Sounds like that’s the plan. Be ready to go in ten minutes. Dom stayed at Noah’s last night, and Casper is taking Damon on an organ drop today, so it’s just the three of us.” Stray left the room with his coffee in hand. I followed him out.
So much for lazing around on the couch in my sweats all day. Oh well. Duty called.
I returned to my bedroom to change into jeans, grabbing a hoodie on my way out. The weather had warmed up considerably with the onset of spring. I was happy not to have to layer up anymore. Cold weather and I were not friends.
Every year I asked myself why I lived in Wintervale. A town named for the eight months of frigid temperatures forced upon us. You’d think growing up in Western Canada would have conditioned me to such weather. Nope. Give me hot and sunny any day. We had amazing summers. They just didn’t last long enough.
“Where did you end up last night?” Rebel asked when I climbed into the passenger seat of his car. “I never saw you again after you disappeared with Ripley.”
I buckled my seatbelt before reclining the seat into Stray who sat behind me. He reached around to give my head a shove in response.
“They hooked up last night,” Stray said, immediately spilling my personal business. “I’ve got to say, I’m a little offended. She was so against me getting with Codie. How hypocritical.”
“It was a one-time thing. Pretty sure it had nothing to do with you, dude. Talk about ego.” I turned around in my seat so he could see me roll my eyes.
