“I like that idea,” Gigi agrees. “Go out tonight and see how you feel after. It may give you a new perspective on things.”
“Wait. I have a better idea,” Lily announces, her eyes widening before she claps her hands. “We’ll meet you at the bar and bring Arlo. You do your thing, and we’ll do ours. You’ll figure out if she really has some pull over you, and we can see if she feels the same. She was a little weird on the phone earlier and had me wondering. So this will be perfect.”
I stare up at her, confused as fuck. “You want me to hit on other women with Arlo watching? Do you even know how fucked up that is?”
Lily paces in front of me. “Just flirt with some girls, be your usual self. I want her to see how you work a room.”
“Dumbest shit I’ve ever heard,” I grumble.
Gigi twirls around in her seat and comes to a dead stop, her boots slamming against the tile. “Have you ever seen one of the women you’ve slept with at a bar and still left with someone else?”
“Well, duh. There are only so many bars and women in this town.”
She lifts her hands. “Point proven. Arlo shouldn’t be any different from the others. You’re not dating, and hell, you haven’t even kissed her. It shouldn’t be a big deal. Unless it is…”
“It’s not,” I bite out.
Gigi smiles. “We’ll see.”
“Absolutely not,” I say, putting my foot down. “You’re not bringing Arlo to watch me hit on random chicks, trying to get laid. That’s not how shit is done, and it’s not right. It’s a hard no, and there’s no debate. Got me?”
Gigi tilts her head, a small smirk twitching on her lips. “You hearin’ this?” she asks Lily, but she keeps her eyes locked on mine.
“I am, and I’m shook.”
Pike, Rocco, Rebel, and Trace walk into the shop, talking back and forth, shooting the shit, and come to a dead stop when they see the three of us.
“What’d we miss, because, by the looks of the standoff, it’s a lot,” Pike asks his wife.
“Tell them,” I say, looking back and forth between Lily and Gigi. “Tell them all your amazing idea.”
“We want Mello to go to a bar and do his normal thing.”
“Which is?” I ask, because she’s being evasive with her answer for a reason.
“A one-night stand,” Gigi replies.
“And this is a problem because…?” Rocco asks me, but I point to Lily.
Lily sighs. “Because we want to bring Arlo to watch.”
The three guys all jerk their heads back, understanding the problem without knowing the full extent of the fucked-upness of it all.
Lily’s officially lost her mind. In what alternate reality is her idea a good one? None. Fake dating or not, I don’t want Arlo to watch me hitting on and trying to tag other women. That shit isn’t cool, no matter the circumstances.
“Bad idea,” Rocco mutters, rubbing the back of his neck. “Really bad.”
“Super fucked up, babe. You don’t do that shit,” Pike adds, confirming my feeling.
“Sounds like a delicious recipe for a catfight. I’m there for whatever happens,” Trace announces. “Count me in.”
Rebel rubs her temples before covering her face with her hands. “You two come up with the craziest shit,” she mumbles, talking to Gigi and Lily but not looking at them when she says those words.
“It’s a fact-finding mission, and this is why Arlo’s here. I don’t get the big deal,” Gigi tells everyone. “Let’s remember, they’re not dating. It’s all fake to teach Carmello how to land a forever relationship.”
“Still fucked up,” Pike tells her. “You don’t have the new piece of ass, real or not, watch you find a different piece of ass, without causing a whole lot of headache and misery.”
“Fake ass shouldn’t have an opinion on or be an issue for the real ass,” Gigi replies.
I shake my head, questioning my life choice to work with my nosy-ass family and for getting Lily involved in my personal life.
“Wait,” Rebel says, and I close my eyes. “I’m getting a vibe.”
“There’s no vibe,” I tell her, lifting up my hands and leaning back into my chair. “None. Zero. Zilch.”
She smiles. “You like this woman. Like really, really, really like her.”
“I don’t.”
“It wasn’t a question,” she says. “You do. Because you’ve never cared about feelings or blowback when it came to any other piece of ass.”
“Can we stop saying piece of ass?” Lily asks, having all sets of eyes turn to her. “I mean, she’s our friend, and we know she’s more than that.”
“I’m with Lily. Be respectful.”
“Right now, she’s tail,” Pike argues. “Unless there’s something you aren’t telling us.”
“There’s nothing,” I say, pushing my chair back and getting up. “Drop it.”
Everyone’s quiet, staring at me with their mouths open.
“Oh boy,” Pike mumbles.
“Yep,” Rocco adds.
“Shit, he’s gone,” Rebel says. “Knew it.”
“Totally,” Gigi says with a smile. “I told you this would happen.”
“Fuck that,” Trace tells them then turns his gaze on me. “You need a wingman tonight, I’m there.”
I turn, glaring at them all. “Everyone can fuck off.”
Gigi places her hand on her chest, leaning back. “Touchy bitch, ain’t he?”
Lily pulls out her phone. “Let’s get another opinion.”
“What are you doing?” I ask her, everyone’s eyes on her as she lifts the phone to her ear.
Lily waves me off. “Hey, Arlo.”
“No,” I whisper, moving toward her, but she spins, holding the phone away as I try to snatch it.
“You want to go out tonight and grab a drink?” Lily smiles, staring at me as she listens to Arlo’s answer. “It’ll be later, after I finish my last appointment. I’ll bring my cousins too.”
“Fuck,” I mutter, glancing upward.
“I’m in for a ladies’ night,” Rebel says.
“Who said it was ladies only?” Rocco asks. “I thought we agreed it would be all of us.”
“I just want a night out. I don’t care who’s there,” Gigi tells everyone.
“No. He won’t be there.” Lily smiles, waggling her eyebrows at me. “He has other plans.”
I roll my eyes.
“You still game?” she asks Arlo and pauses, the room quiet, waiting for the reply. “Perfect. I’ll text you where and when later today.”
“I’m not telling you where I’m going,” I tell Gigi immediately, letting her know their scheme isn’t going to go as planned.
“Whatever,” she says, looking smug. “I want to see Arlo, not spend time with you.”
The sad thing is, I want to see Arlo too, and I hate myself for it.
12