Flaw (The Flaw Series) (12 page)

I don’t know what she’s saying to him, I just know it’s
not
good. Whatever else I have coming tonight…
I deserve it
.

Aidan

“This is nice. I don’t know that we’ve really been alone lately.” Becca is tucked under my arm. She’s got a bag of Tootsie pops on her lap, digging through, eating all the brown ones.

“I think I have to say something to Josh when he gets back from the wedding,” Becca says casually, taking the lollipop from her mouth. “He got a hard on when we were watching TV the other night.”

“I’m sorry, what?”
Did I just hear her right?
Becca falls back on the couch as I snap up, turning to face her. “When the hell did this happen?”

“You were at the gym and me and Josh were watching TV, just like me and you always do. Just like we’re doing right now and then boom, there it was. I was so pissed. What does he think, I’m one of those girls he can just hump and dump? No way.”

“All right, there’s a million things wrong with what you just said. Josh knows the deal with me and you. Him hitting on you, well, I’m afraid that’s gonna have some serious consequences.”

“No, it wasn’t really like that.” She waves the lollipop in the air, shaking her head. “He didn’t hit on me. I think it just happened cause he’s a pervert and he got a boner cause we were sitting close.”

“Sitting close? Weren’t you sitting in the chair?”
What the hell has been going on in this place when I’m not around?

“I don’t know. I guess I moved over or something.” Becca gnaws on her thumb nail.

“He’s attracted to you, Becca. I knew something like this was gonna happen. I knew it the second I saw you guys together.” I cup a hand over my mouth, breathing in through my nose. “And don’t even try and lie to me, cause I know you’re attracted to him, too. Is it anything more than that? Are you feeling anything towards him?”

“No!” Becca exclaims, jumping up from the couch. The bag of lollipops drops onto the floor and she throws the stick from her mouth down next to it. “I’m not stupid. I know the type of guy he is. The money, the car, the looks, the way he treats women. I know better than to let myself think there’s a chance of something happening with me and him.”

“Becca, there’s something missing from what you just said. What about me? Where am I in all this?”

She blinks her eyes, almost as if coming out of a fog. “Oh my God, Aidan, of course. I’m sorry, I said that all wrong. Josh is nothing to me. You are everything.” She bends down to give me a kiss. “Don’t worry about Josh. What happened was stupid and I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. There’s nothing at all between us. I swear. Besides, right now I’m sure he’s getting it on with Jordyn.”

The comment about Jordyn takes the burning rage inside me to the boiling point. The idea of Josh with Jordyn, making his moves on Becca, playing both girls,
damn
, it makes me want to bash his head in. “THAT GRAY HAIRED MOTHER FUCKER! What do girls even see in a low-life dick like that?” I bang my fist on the side of the couch and Becca jumps, cowering away from me.

“Stop!” Becca yells across the couch. “Calm down. I shouldn’t have said anything. Don’t get mad at Josh over something stupid that I said. Maybe I was wrong. Maybe it was his phone in his pocket or he was thinking about someone else. I don’t know. I could be starting something over something that was nothing.”

Becca warily sits back down next to me, stroking the back of my head, trying to calm me down. It does little to help. I’m still fired up playing back our conversation. “Why would Josh having money and a nice car mean shit?”

“Huh?”

“You said you didn’t think you’d have a chance with him because of his money and car. What did you mean by that?”

“Oh, um … ” Becca bites her lip and shrugs. “People ya know who have money don’t really go for people like us who don’t come from the same background and lifestyle as they do. I’m sure Josh is looking for someone like Jordyn, perfect looks, money, parents that spoil her. Not a pink-haired girl with tattoos that ate a bag of pretzels for lunch the other night to save a few bucks. If I ever got with Josh, it would be nothing more than a night of slumming to him.”

I throw my head back in shock. “Are you seriously putting yourself down like that? First of all, you’re beautiful. I know it, that asshole knows it, and I know you know it, too. And slumming? I’m not even gonna dignify that word with an answer.” I can’t believe Becca would actually use that word to describe herself.

“I’m not putting myself down. I’m actually putting them down. Josh and Jordyn. Josh would never take a girl who looks like me seriously and Jordyn would never, either.” Her lips close tight and she looks away, raising her eyebrows.

“Jordyn? I don’t understand what she has to do with this conversation? If you’re trying to make the point that a girl like Jordyn would never go for a guy like me, then just say that.”

“Fine. You think I won’t. Jordyn would never go for a guy like you.”

“Because of my scar?”

“Yes, amongst other things.”

“Like what?”

“Like, once she found out who put that scar on your face, she’d be off and running in no time.”

I sink back into the couch. She went
there
. That’s not something we do. I’m quiet, staring ahead, pissed.

Becca crawls into my lap and places her hands on my face. “I’m sorry. What are we doing? Why are we arguing about Josh and Jordyn? Me and you.” She kisses my lips. “Nothing else matters. We have each other. We love each other. We get each other. We’re gonna protect each other. Forget them. Okay?”

I nod my head and let out a grunt. Becca relaxes and drops herself back down into our standard cuddle position.

My jaw clenches, still raging over Josh’s play for my girl. Becca wants me to protect her and maybe I’m not doing such a good job of that. It’s time to forget about Jordyn. And it’s becoming clear that Josh’s days around here are numbered.

Josh

Seeing Becca walk into the bar tonight is a nice surprise, but once again she stays quiet. Not the bouncy, silly girl I’m used to. I stick two cherries and a pineapple wedge through the toothpick of a tropical umbrella and place it in a tall glass of Diet Coke for her.

“Thanks.” She pulls the toothpick out and scrapes a cherry into her mouth.

Since that night under the blanket, since I’ve been home from the wedding, everything’s been off. Aidan stares me down as if he is going to kill me but says nothing. Almost like he knows and is just waiting for the right time to strike. I make sure and tread lightly when I’m around him, avoiding him as much as I can. When Becca is over she stays huddled up in my chair saying very little, which is unlike her. I know we need to talk. Finding the right words to start off has been tough.

“Becca, I hope you’re not mad at me for what happened the other night. I can explain.”

She sits at the bar, sipping her soda through a straw, and shrugs. No response. I take the cup away from her, holding onto it, so she can’t take sips to avoid talking to me. I think she’s finally about to say something when Jordyn walks over and interrupts us.

“Is he telling you about what happened at the wedding? Sheesh. That was awkward.” Jordyn sighs.

“Thanks, No. I was not telling her about that.” Nor was I planning on it.

Becca breaks into a smile. “Oh, no, tell me. I didn’t hear anything about the wedding.”

I give Jordyn a look that warns her to keep her mouth shut if she knows what’s good for her. The last thing I want is for Becca to know what happened at the wedding. I’m just glad it’s over and I survived. Something tells me if we hadn’t been at a big family wedding, I’d have been in a world of trouble.

Jordyn holds her hands up and backs away to leave us alone.

“You know you have to tell me now.” Becca smirks. “What did you do at the wedding? Hit on the bride?”

“I just ran into an old high school friend.” I lean my arms forward on the bar to get closer and lower my voice so she has to lean in to listen. “I want to talk about the other night. The night on the couch.”

Her body snaps back, eyes dart down to the bar. “Oh that, yeah. I’m over it. No big deal. We were watching TV. There was a hot girl on the show. Shit happens.”

I reach across the bar and grab her hand. “There was a hot girl under that blanket. And I’m sorry I lost a bit of control.”

Becca gives me a shy glance, then pulls her hand back, but a small smile gives away the fact that perhaps she’s flattered by what I just said.

“If you weren’t with Aidan I’d hook up with you in a second. I sure wouldn’t have let you get up from that couch.” The words come out without thinking. I only meant for more flattery. Only it didn’t come out that way.

“You’d hook up with me? What makes you think I’d hook up with you?” Her chest heaves and she stands up, pushing her stool away from the bar. “Guys like you are a joke. You’re a joke, Josh. You use girls and then toss them away like they’re garbage. And you know what happens to guys like that?” She smacks hers hands down hard on the bar. “Nothing. They wind up alone. Miserable. All the love they never gave, well, it comes back to haunt them, cause they never get love back.”

Her hair wields around her as she storms out the door. I’m over the bar fast, chasing after her. “Becca, stop!” I catch up to her outside the bar, grabbing onto her arm. “That’s not what I meant.
Fuck
. I swear I did not mean it like that.”

“Let go of me,” Becca demands, staring down at my hand still wrapped firmly around her arm. The cold wind whips around us. Her voice lowers down to a shaky whisper. “I can’t be around you anymore, Josh.”

The whispered words come at me like a punch in the chest. My fingers relax open and her arm drops back to her side. I want to keep holding on but I have to let her go. She hesitates momentarily then takes off, running down the road to get away from me.

Dammit!
My fist slams onto one of the parked cars on the road. I kick the tire, setting off the alarm. What just happened? Why did I say it like that? I made her think I wanted her for nothing more than a hook up. I am completely fucked up.
Fucking clueless
.

What now?
I pace the short length of the sidewalk in front of the bar. A guy comes out of the bar and clicks off his alarm from the doorway. The cold winter air stings the moisture in my eyes. The answer is obvious. I wish there was another way. A way to go back and fix everything, and I do mean everything. “
They wind up alone. Miserable.”
That’s what my future holds.

Jordyn’s at the door waiting for me when I walk back in. “You want to talk about it?”

“Jordyn, there’s nothing to talk about. The asshole lifestyle I lived – I’m paying the price. The wedding, this thing with Becca… it’s all karma.” I swallow a lump forming in my throat, choking out the next words. “Becca’s got it right. I
am
a joke.”

Aidan

My workout is taking a detour. Instead of running at the gym, I’m jogging down Tenth Avenue, two miles away from my apartment, looking for the upscale brownstone with the green front door. Jordyn sent me a text saying we needed to talk about something. She wouldn’t tell me what about, just said it was important and asked me to come over, giving me her address.

Once I push the doorbell, I breathe deep, filling my lungs, preparing them for when I see her. The door swings open, her hair lifts and falls from the motion. Every single time I see her she’s got that super model effect going on. As if time slows down for a brief moment, so she can make the perfect entrance. Does everybody else see this when they look at her?

“Thank you for coming over. Please come in.” The greeting she gives me is business-like. Her attire is as well, another white blouse with soft pearl buttons, a fitted skirt, and black high heels.

I unzip my jacket, leaving it on, following her into the living room. She motions towards the couch and I take a seat. Jordyn remains standing, poised tall, her hands clasped neatly together in front of her. “Becca came into the bar tonight. The way she spoke to Josh … ” Jordyn stops and smooths her hands down the front of her skirt. “It was fucked up.”

My head shakes with a startle. That isn’t princess talk. What had Becca said? She made me promise, swear on my life, not to say anything and then she goes and says something, anyway? I keep my mouth shut and let her go on.

“Josh did not deserve to be spoken to the way she did. She referred to him as a joke. And I’ll tell you something - that guy may be a lot of things, but he is no joke.”

“Hold up. Becca might have been rough on him but he also did something that warranted her being a little rough. Something you know nothing about.”

“I know what happened. It did not warrant what she said.” Jordyn fixes her hair, moving it back off her shoulders. “It wasn’t done intentionally. He knows she’s
unavailable
.”

“If he knows, he needs to back off.” I stand up from the couch, heat rising up my neck. Why did she say the word “unavailable” like that? “Are you trying to infer something about my relationship with Becca?”

“You tell me. Are you and Becca
really
a couple?”

“I love Becca,” I reply.

“That’s not what I asked.” Perfect red lips pout at me, amber eyes blaze right through me.

I don’t answer. I couldn’t even if I tried. The desires building up inside are holding me down, making me unable to move, to think straight… to breathe. Jordyn walks up to where my feet feel like they’re nailed to the floor. Her lips move but I can’t make out what she’s saying. A pool of lust forms inside me. Her fingers land on my arm and from that one small touch, I erupt.

Before I can stop myself, I roughly pull Jordyn in, lowering my head, bringing my mouth down to meet hers forcefully. All control is lost. My tongue is in her mouth, my hands run up her sides, feeling her tight body through the soft fabric of her blouse. Her hands reach up behind my neck and I move fast, backing her up against the wall, reaching my hand up to tear away at the first pearl button. When my tongue traces down her perfect skin and reaches her neck, she cries out my name snapping me back to awareness from the trance I was just lured into.