Page 54

I flicked the lights on, slipped my shoes off, and went into the bathroom. I’d just unbuttoned my shorts, when Aaliyah walked in.

“Yes, Caleb. I’m looking at her right now.”

Pause.

“No, I’m not going to tell you what she’s doing.”

I gave the traitor a glare, and sat down on the toilet. I needed to pee, and if she wanted to watch then I wasn’t going to stop her.

“Because she’s peeing, that’s why.”

Oh great, so much for not telling him what I was doing, genius.

“Get out,” I mouthed, and when Aaliyah ignored my request, I reached for a roll of toilet paper and threw it at her head. With the skill level only becoming of a ninja, she dodged the roll, and ducked out of the bathroom. I heard her ask, “What did you do to make her so angry?” and then tuned the rest out until I was done with my business. When I returned to the bedroom, Aaliyah had made herself comfortable on the bed, and thankfully her phone call with Caleb had ended.

“What are you doing here?” I didn’t mean to be rude, but I wanted Aaliyah to know how disgruntled I was.

She didn’t even flinch. “Caleb called me, and said he couldn’t reach you all day. Poor man was losing his shit, and sent me to make sure you weren’t abducted by a psycho and skinned alive.”

If she was trying to be funny, it wasn’t working. Between the bed-breaking sex the night before, and Caleb’s dickish disposition, my funny bone had snapped itself in half and vacated my body.

“Well as you can see, I’m fine.” I folded my arms across my chest, cocked my hip and gave Aaliyah my best “you can leave now” stare. She wasn’t deterred in the slightest. Either that or she had to brush up on her social cues because clearly she couldn’t take a damn hint.

With a heavy exhalation, Aaliyah stood, and mirrored my stance. “I’m not leaving until you tell me what that rat bastard did.”

“He didn’t tell you?”

Aaliyah shook her head.

Of course he didn’t, the coward.

“The most I got out of him was that he was a prick, and he wanted to make sure you were okay.”

I snorted, more in disbelief than surprise. “Just a prick, huh. That’s quite ironic under the circumstances.”

Aaliyah scrutinized me, but only for a few seconds, and then realized what I was referring to.

“Oh dear God,” she exclaimed. “You slept with him.”

I stayed quiet. A denial would have been fruitless, not to mention that Aaliyah was likely to draw her own conclusions regardless of what I told her.

“I thought you were smarter than that.”

I bristled, and arched a brow. “This coming from a woman who’s had nothing but friends-with-benefits type arrangements and one night stands?”

Aaliyah opened her mouth, and then exhaled. “Touché,” she paused. “But I still expect the full lowdown.”

“I’m not sure I should tell you.” However candid my response, it was the only way to be when it came to Aaliyah. “You have, after all, been consorting with the enemy.”

“You can’t hold that against me when he called me,” she argued.

Fair point.

I dropped my arms with an exasperated sigh. “Fine. If I’m to give you all the dirty details, we need wine, and a lot of it.”

Aaliyah looked a little anxious. “All the dirty details?”

“Ha!” I burst out, turning on my heel. “You asked for it.”

I heard her mutter, “What have I gotten myself into?” from behind me and couldn’t help but wonder the same thing.