“Hey, sorry,” Tyra said as she rushed in. “My relief had car trouble and was late for her shift.”
“I’ve told you before, and I’ll say it again, quit that job and these people, and just run away with me,” I flirted.
Giggling, she pushed me away. “In your dreams.”
“Weren’t you listening?” I quipped as I followed her into the kitchen. “Where do you think I got the idea? When I dream, I dream big.”
Ignoring me, Tyra greeted everyone before kissing Vaughn and stealing my seat. He was too busy scowling at me to kiss her back, though. “Sooooo… what did I miss?” she said as her gaze traveled back and forth between us.
“I gave your boyfriend a massage, and he acted like I groped his dick.”
“You may as well have, you fucking prick.”
Tyra frowned as she regarded Vaughn. “So what? That doesn’t mean anything. You’re telling me you’d only get a massage from a female masseuse?”
“He’s not a fucking masseuse!” Vaughn barked.
“Oh, God.” Tyra groaned as she clutched her forehead. “Please don’t tell me you’re homophobic. That’s a deal-breaker, times ten, Rees.”
He sucked his teeth while I chose to ignore her comment about me being gay. I definitely wasn’t but getting the answers I needed while avoiding a million questions was worth a little side-eye.
“Of-fucking-course-not,” he said, breaking the awkward silence. “I still want to know his deal, though.”
Everyone’s eyes traveled to me. Even Wren and Lou had broken free of their bubble to regard me. I definitely needed to talk to those two. Alone.
“I don’t know,” I pretended to muse as I hopped onto the island. “I was thinking of trying dick for a while. Pussy is getting to be a little monotonous, you know?”
“No,” Vaughn said with a sarcastic twist of his lips. “I don’t know.”
“But you never know how great it can be from both sides until you give it a try, though, right?” When I winked at him, he rolled his eyes. He wasn’t falling for my shit, but at least he wasn’t asking questions I couldn’t answer just yet.
An hour later, we were packed inside their tiny living room, ready to devour the pizza and wings we ordered after Wren disappeared to take a call, and Lou somehow burned our dinner to a crisp. I watched from the corner of my eye as she checked her phone for the umpteenth time and pursed her lips.
“Expecting someone?” Leaning over, I whispered, “A single friend, perhaps?”
Reaching up, Lou pinched my cheek. “Whatever happens, just remember,” she whispered back, “I’m only looking out for my bestie.”
“I’m your damn best friend,” Wren barked as he returned from the kitchen with a stack of plates. After handing them to Lou, she counted them, and we both frowned when she said she needed eight. There were only seven of us.
Before Wren could grill her, however, the doorbell rang.
“WE’RE HERE, MISS.”
I stared at the beautiful, blue house and the familiar vehicles parked outside of it and wondered what the hell I was doing. Lou had invited me over when we weren’t even friends, and I accepted despite knowing who would be there.
Or maybe the promise of who’d be here had been my reason for accepting.
Willingly sharing the same space with Jameson was a bad idea on all counts, but it would only be for one night. A few hours free of my cage. A few hours spent being a normal teen hanging out. Lou had said as much when she called to extend the invitation. I’d hesitated to accept—a million reasons why I shouldn’t, waiting to spill from my lips.
“You shouldn’t take life so seriously. We can’t control when we go or even how we go, but we can control the way we live… So lighten the fuck up.”
I couldn’t help smiling at her “advice” as I watched the figures moving around inside the house. Lou had said dinner was at eight, and it was now six minutes after. Would they wait for me to start or just assume I’d stood them up?
A moment later, my door opened, seemingly taking the decision from me. As Joe stood there, waiting for me to get out, I took a deep breath and grabbed onto my last bit of courage with both hands.
It’s going to be fine.
I had the feeling my monsters wouldn’t find me here.
Grabbing the gift I’d brought for my hosts, I stepped from the SUV and offered Joe a shaky smile. I then told him to come back for me in a couple of hours. I had four hours until my curfew, but I was planning ahead just in case this turned into a nightmare. There were rare times my father let me out—usually when I told him I would be making some sort of public appearance with Ever—so when he did, my curfew was at midnight. It was a Friday night, and while most of my peers didn’t have one or wouldn’t bother heeding it if they did, I knew, for me, it wasn’t an option.
It had been a few years since he’d done so, but I could still feel the lash of my father’s belt whenever I broke his rules or wouldn’t comply.
Walking up the paved path, I tried and failed to push away a certain memory from my mind. The night I stood underneath the stone archway up ahead and sang for two strangers while Jamie played his father’s guitar. It had been a cold, winter’s night, but I flushed hot with the memory—especially the reminder of Jamie sneaking into my bedroom and stealing me from my bed. He’d risked it all for his friends, and it only reminded me why I’d fallen for him in the first place.
When I reached the black-painted door with a window cut into the shape of a snowflake, the butterflies I hadn’t felt in a long time took flight. Slipping my hand in my pocket, I wrapped my hand around the harmonica hidden there and squeezed. Have courage.
Freeing my hand, I rang the doorbell.
Well, fuck. There was no going back now.
I could hear voices speaking all at once on the other side, and it sounded like they were arguing. A few seconds later, the front door was ripped open. Wren, who was seriously fucking mouthwatering with his dark-brown hair and stormy blue eyes, stood on the threshold, scowling.
“Hey,” he said, a note of surprise in his voice. “Barbette, right?”
Even though his tone was polite, I couldn’t help but fidget when he hesitated to let me inside. Hadn’t he known I was coming?
“Just Bee is fine.”
Before he could respond, Lou appeared, ducking under his arm, and I released a sigh of relief.
“For a second, I thought you stood me up,” she greeted with a grin.
“Not at all.” Returning her grin, I lifted the case of beer that hadn’t been easy convincing Joe to purchase for me. I was pretty sure he only caved out of misplaced guilt. The NDA he signed made him privy to my family’s private affairs without worry that he would ever speak a word. “I just couldn’t come empty-handed.”
Wren’s blue-gray eyes widened appreciatively, and then he was stepping aside and pulling Lou with him. I didn’t meet their gazes as I stepped inside their home. I didn’t want either of them to see just how nervous I was.
Even though I’d been here that night, I hadn’t seen the inside. Jamie had taken me home the minute I’d belted the last note and left as if nothing had ever happened. I was curious if the two strangers had found their fairy-tale ending, but stubbornly, I hadn’t wanted to give Jamie the satisfaction of leaving me in suspense. He clearly didn’t like asking me for help, which was probably why he never bothered and kidnapped me instead.