Four Letter Word
Page 80

It was moving day and everyone was lending a hand. Jamie and Cole were helping Brian with the heavy stuff and unloading the moving truck. Tori and I emptied out the back of my car and transported boxes and décor I didn’t bother packing, including lamps and cute accent pillows I’d picked up at Target. When Shay arrived after her shift ended, she started unpacking and putting stuff away in the kitchen for me, and Kali, bless her heart, was doing what she could, which consisted of being amazing company and chatting us up while we worked since she was busy balancing a squirming Cameron on her hip.
I called for a break after setting the box labeled Games and Shit in the living room, not knowing what all shit meant and leaving that for Brian to relocate if needed since he was the one writing vague descriptive terms on stuff he packed up.
One of his boxes he’d labeled with a question mark. I stuck that one in the basement.
It seemed appropriate. I didn’t know what we were putting down there.
The girls, plus Cameron and Sir, were hanging out in the kitchen, talking and digging into the pizzas I ordered as a thank-you to everyone for helping out. We were all standing around the small island, except for Kali, since the table and chairs hadn’t been brought inside yet.
Kali was crouched down by the slider and watching over Cameron, who was on the floor, squealing and waving his arms excitedly as Sir sniffed and licked his toes.
“Ga-ga-ya,” Cameron yelled, bopping Sir on the head in a happy baby way and not at all trying to be cruel.
Sir thought it was playful and kept on sniffing and licking.
“I think it’s nice Jamie and that other guy offered to help out today,” Kali said, looking over at us.
“What’s nice about it?” Tori shot back, studying her chipped polish. “We’re helping. It’s the right thing to do. You shouldn’t be rewarded for being a decent human being.”
Kali slowly looked away, looking uncomfortable.
Shay muffled a giggle and resumed eating her slice.
I shook my head, shooting a disapproving glare at Tori.
She’d never give Jamie an inch.
While avoiding him wasn’t an option today, Tori still managed to ignore Jamie every chance she got, paying him no mind when he was speaking either to her or in general.
She was still holding tight to that grudge developed on the night of the party but, if asked, would never admit to Jamie’s actions affecting her.
Not ever.
She’d die first. I was convinced.
“I agree. I think it’s nice,” I added, standing a little taller.
Tori slowly slid her eyes to mine and narrowed them.
I ignored that, turning my head when Brian came around the corner. He was walking backward while carrying one side of the rectangular dining room table.
Jamie had the other end and entered the kitchen next, followed by Cole, who was walking behind and somehow managing to carry four chairs at once, making it look effortless.
“Coming that way,” Brian warned over his shoulder. “Might wanna get the little guy up.”
“Oh, right.” Kali snatched Cameron up off the floor and carried him over to the island.
Sir automatically moved out of the way, rope in his mouth, and dashed over to his water bowl by the pantry. He dropped the toy beside the dish and went in for a drink.
“In front of the slider,” Brian directed.
The guys lowered the table to the floor in the small dining room area we had. Once it was in the spot I okayed with a thumbs-up, Cole walked around the table and scooted a chair in on each side.
Some of our furniture was coming from Brian’s old place with Jamie, including his bed, an extra couch they had stored in the basement, and the dining room table.
Jamie never used it so he didn’t care if Brian took it with him when he moved out.
Now it was ours and I planned on cooking a lot of new recipes and getting plenty of use out of it.
I was extremely excited over a piece of furniture.
“Go grab the screwdriver. One of the legs is loose,” Brian said to Jamie, then squatted down and examined underneath the table.
Jamie left the room.
“Da-ba-da!” Cameron craned his neck around, trying to see where Sir went. “Da!”
Kali rubbed his back.
“He’s thirsty, baby. Let him get a drink.”
Cam grabbed a fistful of Kali’s hair and tried eating it.
“No, no, no. Not Mommy’s hair.” Kali pulled his hand down. “Come on,” she said, bouncing him. “Let’s go get some Cheerios.”
Kali carried Cam out of the kitchen in search of her diaper bag, I guessed.
“Da!” Cam yelled out after they left the room.
Cole came up to the island, flipped a pizza box open, grabbed a paper plate, and took out a slice. “Appreciate the food,” he said, giving me a smile.
I gave him one back. “No problem.” Then I turned my head as Jamie entered the room again.
“Flat head or Phillips?” he called out, moving toward the table.
“Phillips,” Brian answered.
I watched Jamie tuck one tool into his back pocket and hold on to another one.
What happened next was choreographed and well planned. I’d die convinced of this.
Just as Jamie was moving behind her, Tori stretched out across the island with her arms in front of her like a cat bathing in the sunlight, popped her jean short covered butt out, dropped her cheek on her shoulder, closed her eyes, and moaned, low and long and deep in her throat, doing this while giving her hips a little sway.
My mouth dropped open.
Something hit the tile floor with a sharp clink, followed by Jamie’s voice groaning an ache-filled, “Motherfucker.”
He was standing directly behind Tori and staring hungrily at her ass, looking ready to step up and take her in front of everyone right here.
“What the …you expecting me to reach that, dickhead?” Brian hissed from underneath the table. “Pick it up. I’m not crawling over there.”
Tori straightened up a little and opened her eyes, slowly looking over her shoulder and doing so while keeping her bent-over position. She breathed a short, unimpressed laugh, then turned back around, keeping her weight on her elbows now and resumed facing forward, all while smiling proudly at herself.
“Hello?” Brian nearly shouted.
Jamie pulled out of his trance with a shake of his head and pushed the screwdriver to Brian with his foot, mumbling something about a cock tease under his breath.
“Jesus,” Cole mumbled, looking at Tori like he was feeling that moan deep in his own throat. He blinked like he was trying to clear his mind, then stepped away from the island and stood by the table with the guys.
While they conversed among themselves, I took a step sideways and got closer to Tori.
“What was that?” I whispered, leaning down.
“What?” she asked, playing innocent and keeping her own voice lowered. She shrugged. “I had to stretch.”
“You had to stretch,” I repeated, disbelieving every word she was uttering.
That was no stretch.
“My back felt tight,” she elaborated, picking at her cuticle. “We lifted a lot today.”
We did no such thing.
I put my lips next to her ear.
“You totally did that to get a reaction out of Jamie. No other reason.”