I quickly straighten my clothes and move to sit on the side of the bed. I grab my glasses and gather my hair up to wind it back into a bun just as he comes back out. Tate frowns at me, clearly expecting me to still be waiting for part two but my head has already cleared enough to remember how bad of an idea that is no matter how much I want to. His next words make all the hearts and stars circling my head pop and disappear.
“Feel free to have a shower, I’m going to hit the gym.”
It’s way too close to what Hunter said to me after I had sex with him and it reminds me that Tate Valor is just as much of a player as Hunter is. When I just sit looking down at my lap, I hear him sigh and walk into his closet. He comes back with another set of clothes and tosses them on the bed beside me. I’m feeling off-center now and think we should get back to the balance we had so I look up at him.
“We…we shouldn’t do that again. I, I mean, we should just stick to the deal. It’s not a good idea to blur the lines like that.”
He tilts his head at me and I see the coldness seep into his gaze.
“You can relax, Savanah. That didn’t mean anything to me. Just a hand job between friends, right? You don’t have to worry about blurred lines. I see crystal clear.”
My mouth drops open to say…something but he’s already yanking the door open and slamming it behind him. I lift my hands to rub at my tired eyes but I can smell him on them so drop them back into my lap. I don’t understand what just happened. He wanted a fake girlfriend but I swear I just saw the hurt of rejection in his eyes. Heavy metal music comes on from another room and it jars me enough that I jump from the bed, grab the clothes he threw next to me and bolt for the shower.
BECKETT
I’m leaning against the island drinking coffee when Savy comes down the stairs. She’s wearing a pair of too-big sweatpants that are rolled up at the ankles and a hoodie that clearly belongs to Tate. She looks like a little girl playing dress up in her dad’s clothes. It’s cute as fuck. When she spots me, she offers up a sad little smile.
“Mornin’, darlin’. You want some coffee?”
She glances towards the windows at the back of the house but Ash had closed all the blinds tight for some reason.
“You might as well get comfy. The storm is still raging out there. We probably got a foot of snow overnight and it’s still coming down. Winter came in with a bang this year.”
Her shoulders seem to tense up and she wraps her arms around herself with a sigh.
“Coffee?” I ask again and when she nods, I turn and get a cup down for her. “You don’t like the snow, darlin’?”
She takes the mug from me with a little smile of thanks and gives a tiny shake of her head. “I’m okay with snow, just not when it’s falling this hard. Bad childhood experience.”
I lean back and take a longer look at her, surprised when she doesn’t elaborate on that. Most girls I’ve met would use something like that to play the victim but this girl just eats it all back up inside, so I don’t push and just sip my coffee with her until Jude stomps down the stairs. His white-blond hair is standing up in every direction and he looks pissed off at the world. He’s not a morning person and it usually takes at least two cups of coffee or a chick sucking his dick to get him back to his usual goofy self. I reach to pour him his first cup but he slides right up to Savy and sticks his face in her neck with a pouty whine. Her eyes go comically wide as she tries to lean away from him.
“Sa-a-a-a-v-y-y-y, will you make me some pancakes?”
Her first real smile since she came down spreads over her face when he snags her coffee out of her hand and gulps what’s left of it.
“Why should I make you pancakes? I’m the guest here.”
He jerks his body like a toddler and pouts. “Pa-lease? Ash’s pancakes are always flat and boring. Everything you bake is amazing. I just know you’ll make the bestest fluffiest pancakes. Pleeease? I’ll put my man missile in your she shed for a reward!”
Savy groans, spreads out her fingers, and puts her hand over his face to push him an arm’s length away.
“I’ll make you pancakes but only if you give the awful vagina references a break for the rest of the day.”
He hits her with a gleaming grin. “One hour!”
“Five hours!” She counters with a stern, narrow-eyed glare.
“Six hours and that’s my final offer!” The idiot gushes, making her laugh again.
“Fine, but you have to show me where everything is to make them.”
He claps his hands like he’s five years old and points vaguely at the kitchen cupboards. I shake my head at his antics and reach out for her empty coffee cup to refill it.
“Come here, I’ll show you where everything is.”
She’s pouring out the first batch onto a sizzling skillet when Tate comes down and judging by the scowl on his face, he did not tap that ass last night and he’s not happy about it. Strangely, I am. There’s something about this girl that tugs at me in a way I’ve never felt before. I feel oddly…protective…over her. I’m no angel when it comes to women. I like getting my dick wet, often, but Savy doesn’t seem to fit into the pound them and pink slip them category. Something to think about, there.
She hands out plates to Jude, Tate, and me but when Ash comes in, she fumbles the spatula and drops a pancake on the floor. Jude screams, “Five-second rule!” and snaps it up to add to the stack on his plate drowning in syrup.
