Poser (12 page)

Ivy

I thought Rimmel was going to bounce right out of her seat and through the roof of my Toyota. When Romeo texted her cryptically and asked why her car was home but she wasn’t, she all but fell out of her chair.

“He’s here!” she squealed and leapt up.

“What?” I asked, looking around the stands for whoever she was shrieking about.

Her hand grasped my arm as she bounced and tried to pull me up. In true Rimmel fashion, she fell over, but my brother managed to stop her from hurting herself.

“Rim.” I laughed. “What’s gotten into you?”

Her phone went off again.

She read the screen and laughed. “I knew it!”

Drew glanced around her at me. “Should we be concerned?”

I snickered. “Nah.”

She was typing off a response and said, “We have to go!”

“Go where?”

“Romeo is at the house!” She hurried past me into the aisle. “We have to go!”

“I thought he wasn’t getting here ‘til really late?”

“He got in early!” She was hopping from one foot to the next. She bolted down the steps, and I grabbed Drew’s arm and followed suit.

While we hurried through the parking lot, I texted Braeden quickly to let him know what was going on. The game was ending in just a few minutes, so he wouldn’t be very far behind anyway. Drew had my keys, so he slid into the driver’s seat, and Rimmel practically dove into the back.

“Better step on it,” I told him, amused.

I forgot how literal he would take those words. He drove to the house like he was on a NASCAR track and he was in first place. I held on to the door handle as if my life depended on it and told him to knock it off, but usually shy and cautious Rimmel only laughed.

When he slid into the driveway, the front door swung open and Romeo’s large frame stepped out.

Rimmel fell out of the car.

Like literally forgot how to work her feet and hit the ground. Before any of us could do anything, she was up and moving again, heading straight for Romeo.

I could hear his laugh drift through the car door she left open, and he planted his feet, bracing himself for her to launch herself at him.

Which she did.

He caught her and her legs wrapped around his waist.

“There’s my girl,” he said.

They didn’t say anything else because they started kissing right there in the grass. Drew glanced at me and raised an eyebrow.

“Totally normal for them,” I said and opened my door. “C’mon. I’ll introduce you to Romeo.”

“He doesn’t expect me to jump in his arms, does he?”

I laughed as I came around the hood. The pair still hadn’t come up for air. I knew from experience they would likely be in bed half the weekend. I thought back to how good it had been to be back in B’s arms when he came home from camp. And that had only been a couple weeks. It had been almost a month since Rim had seen Romeo.

“Maybe we should just give them some space,” I murmured and took Drew’s arm to steer him around them and into the house.

Just then Romeo lifted his head. “Nah, it’s cool,” he called out, his voice hoarse.

Another minute passed as he glanced back at Rimmel and slid his thumb over her lower lip. She smiled and buried her face in his shoulder. Romeo shifted all her weight into one arm and held out his fist to Drew.

“Ivy’s bro?”

“Drew.” He confirmed and hit his fist against Romeo’s. “Thanks for letting me crash here while I visit my sister.”

“I hear you been throwing some money at the bills,” Romeo remarked, respect in his tone.

It made me relax. I had to admit I worried that Drew and Romeo might get off to a rough start like B and him had.

“I pay my way,” Drew replied.

Romeo nodded and swung his attention to me. His blue eyes crinkled at the corners and his teeth flashed. “Blondie,” he said, using Braeden’s nickname for me.

I smiled. He stepped forward and gave me a one-armed hug, pulling me into his side. “How ya been?”

I returned his embrace and replied, but my answer was muffled against him. I liked Romeo. He was a really good guy, and I had to admit I was glad he liked me too.

“B still at the field?” he asked.

Rimmel lifted her head. “Yeah, but I’m sure he’ll be here as soon as he can. Ivy texted him.”

“Sweet.”

I wasn’t sure if it was just me, but he seemed bigger. Taller. Stronger. Maybe it was just because I’d forgotten how big his presence really was, or maybe he really was just bigger. After all, training this year had put some bulk on Braeden. Maybe it was the same for him.

“I’m gonna catch some alone time with my girl before he shows up and gets all needy on me.” Romeo joked and winked at me.

He turned and carried Rim into the house, her laughter floating behind them as he went.

Drew started toward the house, but I caught his arm. “Let’s give them a few.”

I knew how important alone time was. My cheeks heated and desire curled low in my belly just thinking about the last bit of true alone time B and I had together. The night in the bed of his truck was something I was never going to forget.

A few minutes later, I deemed it safe to probably make it to the kitchen without seeing anything we didn’t want to, and we made our way inside.

Halfway up the steps to the front door, a car pulled up. My heart leapt, expecting Braeden to be there when I turned around. Seeing Rimmel and Romeo together made me even more anxious to see him tonight.

All anticipation drained from my chest, replaced with annoyance when I saw it wasn’t Braeden at all.

It was Missy.

What the hell was she doing here?

“My date’s here,” Drew said from behind and stepped around to jog down the steps.

“What!” I gasped.

He tossed me a sheepish grin over his shoulder, but then his attention went right back to his “date.” I watched with open contempt as she threw one long leg out of her two-door car and then the other. She was totally playing up the fact she was wearing knee-high brown boots and a short jean skirt.

“When the hell did you have time to get a date for tonight?” I demanded.

“When I was getting us drinks.” He couldn’t tear his eyes off her. It made me want to pour bleach in my own.

“Funny thing,” Missy said as she drew closer. “Someone totally body checked me when I was walking by the concession stand at the game. If Drew hadn’t been there, I’d have face planted right there onto the hard, sticky floor.”

Somewhere in hell there was a Golden Globe with her name on it.
Biggest Manipulator Ever.

Her top was tight, accentuating her model-like form, and her hair floated around her face along with large gold hoops in her ears.

I glanced at Drew. He was gazing at her like he might be her next knight in shining armor. I was sorely disappointed in him. I thought he had a better bullshit meter than that.

I smacked him in the ribs.

“Ow,” he complained and looked at me. “Why did you do that?”

“You know why,” I intoned.

He looked at Missy. “I really don’t.”

The bewildered tone in his voice had me choking back a laugh. Missy nodded emphatically.

My teeth snapped together. Drew might not know what he did wrong, but Missy totally knew what she was doing. She’d seen pictures of him before. Hell, she probably saw us sitting with him during the game.

Missy knew this was my brother. What the hell was she sniffing around him for?

“How the hell do you even know where we live?” I asked, stepping down off the steps and back onto the sidewalk.

“I know lots of things.” She smiled secretly.

Reminding me about her alter ego, the #BuzzBoss, wasn’t a good way to start this conversation.

“I texted her the address,” Drew said, as if he hadn’t just heard her be all shady.

“Well, you can leave.”

“I was invited,” Missy said, her tone turning frosty.

Here come the claws.

I smiled.

Drew looked between us. “Do you two know each other?”

“The name Missy didn’t strike you as familiar?” I asked with a total duh expression in my tone.

His blue eyes widened. “You’re
that
Missy?” He looked between us again. “Ivy’s best friend Missy?”

“We are
not
best friends,” I snapped.

“She won’t talk to me,” Missy told him pathetically.

So that’s the way she was going to play this, huh? Total victim mode. I knew it was for my brother’s benefit. It was to make me look like the cold, heartless one and her the poor, misunderstood beauty.

“What the hell do you want?” I burst out. “Why are you here?”

My explosion finally seemed to penetrate Drew’s thick skull. “Whoa.”

“I was invited,” Missy purred and sidled up to Drew.

Oh no she didn’t.

“Don’t even think about putting your grimy claws on my brother.” I snarled.

“Or what?” She challenged, her voice sickly sweet.

“Girl,” I warned. “I will kick you in your cooter.”

Drew seemed shocked (what was with him tonight? He was being a total idiot) and swung around to face me.

At the same moment, Braeden’s truck skidded to a stop at the end of the driveway. His door popped open before the engine was even fully off. In one leap, he was on the ground and rushing forward.

If Missy didn’t seem nervous before, she did now.

Braeden

I didn’t know exactly what was going on here.

But the angry look on Ivy’s face told me all I needed to know.

I sorely wanted to yell. Like my throat was fucking itching to throw out hostile words at an alarming speed.

That’s why I swallowed the need.

The darkness inside me was too close. Way,
way
too close.

Instead, I pulled Ivy’s side against my chest and leaned down to speak into her ear. “I leave you alone for five minutes, Blondie.”

Her body was tight, like a tension rod that had been given way too much weight. I could tell by the set of her jaw and the look in her eye that she didn’t want Missy here. That the bitch just showed up. Probably ambushed her.

I wasn’t okay with that. This place, our house, was supposed to be a safe zone. It was the reason Romeo rented it. It was the reason I moved in. We wanted Ivy and Rim to feel like there was a place the drama wouldn’t knock on their door.

Her blue eyes, which looked more green than blue tonight, met mine. She smelled good. A combination of chocolate and vanilla.

Like a dessert I wanted to taste.

She didn’t say anything at all, anger still prevalent on her face.

But I felt the give. The slight shift of her weight toward me, like I was exactly what she wanted. I was exactly who she needed.

That feeling was like a drug. It kept me coming back for more, just one more fix. I’d never get enough of being the one that made Ivy feel whole.

I tore my attention away and looked at Missy, my stare growing hard. “I told you to stay the fuck away from her.”

“I’m sensing a lot of tension here,” Drew said. It was a shitty attempt at a joke.

“You have no right to tell me who I can and cannot date.” Missy sniffed.

My hand spasmed around Ivy’s waist. She glanced at me out of the corner of her eye. “My brother seems to be suffering from the serious illness of idiocy tonight,” she cracked. “Missy here batted her eyes at him at the game, and he asked her out.”

“Whose side you on?” I asked him.

He stiffened. “I didn’t realize there was a side.”

“Let me give you some advice. This chick right here? Total head case. You don’t want what she’s offering.”

“You didn’t seem to mind what I was offering last semester,” Missy remarked, sly.

Ivy jerked in my hold, and I felt the muscle in my jaw jump. I stepped forward, angling myself in front of Ivy. She didn’t need to hear this kind of shit.

“One of the biggest mistakes I ever made was sleeping with you,” I said, cold. Usually, I didn’t try to hurt women’s feelings.

But this chick had it coming.

It was her or Ivy.

There was no freaking competition.

“You slept with my sister’s best friend?” Drew ground out.

Ivy tried to step forward. I gently held her back.

“I know you’re late to the party, man, so let me sum this up for you: Ivy or her.”

Missy made a sound like I was being ridiculous and flipped her hair. “Please, this is—”

I gave Drew a subtle nod, letting him know this was do or die for Ivy. Without hesitation, he crossed his arms over his chest and stepped up beside me. We created a wall between her and Ivy.

Missy sputtered. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

“You’re hot and all,” Drew said. “But family always wins.”

Ivy tried to get around me, and I blocked her again.

“He isn’t your family.” Missy glared at me.

Ivy gasped and tried to shove around me. “For God’s sake, Braeden. She’s not a bullet, and you aren’t a bulletproof vest.”

She stumbled past me, and I caught her around the waist.

“Yeah, well, the damage she inflicts could match a bullet,” I drawled.

A mean look crossed Missy’s face. She pinned Ivy with a gray stare. “You’re so convinced I’m the bad one. Have you ever wondered who else around here kept secrets and told lies?”

“What?” Ivy said, confusion in her tone.

“I wonder if you would be as quick to condemn them as you did me.”

I’ve never in my entire life wanted to hit a woman. I
hated
men who abused women. But as I heard the suggestive words leaking out of her mouth and saw the cold, calculating look in her eyes, I wanted to.

Fuck. I wanted to.

It shook me all the way to my core.

“Get the hell off this property and don’t ever come back,” I warned. “This is the last warning you’re gonna get from me, Missy. The next time, everyone is gonna know
exactly
who you are.”

I saw the fear drift across her face, but then she shrugged one shoulder like I didn’t worry her at all. “Just remember if I go down, I’m taking you with me.”

I lunged forward, catching everyone off guard. Missy flinched backward, but my hand shot out and closed around her upper arm. “Let’s go,” I growled and forcibly directed her toward her car.

“You’re hurting me!” she yelled, the dramatic bitch in her coming out.

“Takes a lot more than an escort to hurt someone as hard as you,” I snapped. Even so, I made sure my hand wasn’t too tight around her arm.

“Let go of me!” she yelled again.

God. All the little biddies in the neighborhood were gonna have a week’s worth of gossip after tonight. I could practically feel them all staring out their windows.

I let go of her but didn’t step back.

“What the fuck is going on out here?” A new, familiar voice cut through the night behind us.

I was too pissed off to be happy.

“Romeo,” Missy said, surprise in her voice.

“You’re not welcome here.” His voice was soft but held that note of steel everyone knew lay at his core.

He was so controlled. It was a lot more effective than my hot, wild anger.

Missy’s mouth opened and then snapped shut. Romeo stopped right beside me, and for a second, it felt like everything was as it was supposed to be again.

Rome and I were strong apart. We could each hold our own. But together…

Together we were damn near unstoppable.

As if we had some kind of freaky psychic connection, we both crossed our arms over our chests at the exact same moment.

Missy turned tail and rushed to her car.

“Don’t worry,” Drew yelled after her. “I won’t be calling!”

Romeo glanced at me and grinned.

Behind us, Ivy muttered something about men and imbeciles.

We watched her car in silent partnership until Missy’s taillights disappeared around the corner. Only then did I turn to my best friend.

“Dude. How do you survive without me?” he cracked. The shit-eating grin he always wore appeared.

I guffawed. “I was just wondering the same shit about you.”

We laughed and pounded our fists together, but it turned into a hug.

“Missed you, bro,” Romeo whispered.

“Times two,” I replied.

Realizing we had an audience, we jerked back. Everyone was watching us with amused expressions.

Rimmel came running out of the house. “What’s going on?” Her words were rushed and concerned.

She was clearly late to the party.

And her shirt was on backward.

“Dude.” I groaned. “No one wants to see that.”

Romeo laughed.

Rimmel skidded to a stop and blinked at us. “What?”

Ivy cleared her throat and motioned at her shirt. Rimmel looked down and even in the dark, everyone could see the cherry color bloom across her face.

“Oh.”

“Everything’s fine, Smalls,” Romeo told her and walked to her side. “B was just taking out the trash.”

She wrinkled her nose. “I thought you were going to Screamerz?”

“Party?” Romeo said, interest in his face.

“All the Wolves are gonna be there,” I answered.

“Hells yeah!” he yelled and scooped Rim up and dumped her over his shoulder. “Let’s go fix your shirt, baby. We’re going out tonight.”

Drew turned to Ivy. “I knew something was up with you. I’m guessing that girl has a hell of a lot to do with it?”

“I need a minute with my girl.” I cut in.

“I have just one question,” he said, serious.

“Ask,” Ivy said.

“What the hell is a cooter?”

Ivy burst out laughing. I glanced at her with a raised brow. I knew exactly what a cooter was.

I pressed a hand to my chest like I was offended. “Ivy.” I gasped. “Did you threaten that girl’s cooter?”

“Maybe,” she replied nonchalantly.

“Well, damn. I’m sorry I missed it.” My voice was forlorn.

“Y’all are so weird,” Drew said and then went in the house.

I closed the short distance between Ivy and me.

“The thought of you and her makes me feel sick inside.” The confession rushed out and her voice cracked. When I glanced down, I saw the sheen of tears in her eyes.

It was like a punch in the gut. I never thought my partying ways of the past would ever become a regret. Live and let live. YOLO and all that shit.

But seeing the way it clearly hurt her made me wish I could take back a few things.

I couldn’t.

I searched for the words, for beautiful words to say that would totally erase the effect Missy had on her tonight.

There were none, but the emotion in me swelled up like the ocean in a storm. It burned just beneath my ribcage, an almost unpleasant feeling. It was like my brain had no clue what to do, but my heart…

My heart knew exactly.

Slowly I reached out and cupped her waist. I wanted her to know I was coming. I wanted her to anticipate my touch. I knew she craved it, because I did too. I stepped up close, so close our toes bumped together and I could feel the breath leaving her lips.

I felt like a cloud wrapped around us, like we entered a place of our own making, a place no one else could touch or see.

I lowered my lips to press gently to her hairline, then lower to her forehead. Her head tipped back and her eyes slipped closed. I pressed a kiss to one eyelid and then the other. When she sighed, I pressed one to her nose.

My hands left her waist to reach for her hands, cradling them in mine. I dropped a kiss in the center of one palm and pressed it beneath my jacket to my chest, just over the place where my heart beat. I was sort of glad I wasn’t wearing a shirt just then. It brought us skin to skin.

I held her there and allowed my lips to feather over hers.

“You’re the only one who’s ever been in here. You’re the only one who’s ever had the most important part of me. You’re the one who turned a man who vowed to never love into one who loves completely.”

“How do you do that?” she whispered, not pulling her face away from mine.

“Do what?” I stroked the backs of my fingers across her cheek.

“Pull me back in the second I start to drift away?”

I smiled. “I told you I was dropping anchor.”

“Don’t ever let me go, Braeden.”

“Oh, baby.” I vowed, “Never.”

Still holding her palm against my chest, I took her mouth with mine. Even though it was a kiss filled with tenderness, the impact was like a 10.0 earthquake. I didn’t have to kiss her hard and fast or deep and long. It didn’t matter that our bodies weren’t molded together in every place.

What mattered was I loved her so much it turned the simple kiss into something much more.

But I was a guy.

I liked being close too.

So after a long, soft kiss, I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist.

“Braeden,” she murmured against my lips.

I grunted and palmed the round lushness that was her ass.

“Why aren’t you wearing a shirt?”

I smiled and she kissed my chin. “Forgot it.”