I was still wearing my smile, but hers was gone. She looked uneasy.
“The happy you’re feeling right now, I’d really like you to keep hold of that through dinner,” she requested with soft eyes and a small voice.
I shot her an odd look, turned that look to Dash, and saw he was wearing one similar—he didn’t know what she was driving at either—then looked back down at Syd.
“Say again?”
“You’re happy. Keep it,” she pressed. “Even when you don’t want to, which could possibly happen, just focus on this feeling making you happy right now and let it take over.”
“Babe, what the fuck are you talking about?” Dash questioned, stealing the words out of my mouth.
“Yeah, and can we head in and talk about this while we fuckin’ eat? I’m starvin’,” I threw out, just in case she didn’t know the urgency here.
Syd briefly glanced at Dash, ignoring his question. Then when Sir ran over to us, she scooped him up and gave him a kiss on the back of his head. “I’d like confirmation you’ll be keeping the happy before we step inside,” she demanded, tipping her chin up and meeting my eyes.
Again, I looked to Dash.
He was looking at his girl and he was doing it with eyes searching for understanding, so I did the same.
I sighed. “Whatever, Sunshine. If it’ll put food in my mouth, fine,” I told her, moving past because I was sick of waiting and wasn’t lying when I said I was starving. “Consider it confir—”
The word died on my tongue the second I stepped inside the house and got an eyeful of Legs standing at the island.
Fucking Legs. At Sunday dinner.
What. The. Fuck.
I stared at her, looking my fill as Syd and Dash came into the house behind me.
Her long blond hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, which made my dick hard for some fucking reason. She wasn’t wearing much makeup except for that red lip I wanted to bite, and her hotass body was decorated in a blue, floral, hippie-looking, ugly-as-shit dress that wasn’t ugly one fucking bit ’cause she was wearing it.
To top that off, she was holding a pie. Looking like Miss Fucking America entering a bake-off.
If it looked like shit, I wouldn’t care. But it didn’t.
It looked good. Real good. And I was starving.
Goddamned motherfucker.
“What the fuck?” I bellowed, causing Tori to jerk back and flinch. I gestured at her. “Your schedule changed that last minute? I just verified two fuckin’ hours ago that you weren’t gonna be here.”
“What?” she questioned softly, setting the pie down in front of her and looking between me and Syd. “I wasn’t scheduled to work today. What are you talking about?”
I slowly turned my head to look at Sunshine, who was keeping her eyes on the puppy in her arms and obviously avoiding.
“What is she doing here? I thought you told Dash she was workin’?” I questioned.
“She told me you knew I was coming and were okay with it,” Tori announced, drawing my head back around.
My eyes narrowed. “What?” I grated.
“Babe, really?” Dash said.
He knew nothing about this either. It was all Sunshine. That was clear.
I breathed deep through my nose, searching for calm.
“I just thought this would be a nice way to smooth things over,” Syd said quietly, offering up an explanation. “You know, break bread and all.”
“Bad idea, Wild,” Dash replied.
I looked from Dash to Syd, echoing, “Yeah, bad idea. She ran me over, Sunshine. You forgettin’ that? So why the fuck would I be okay with sharing a meal with her?”
Tori slapped the counter and gained everyone’s attention when she started yelling, “I did not run you over! Jesus Christ! Quit spreading lies about me!”
“It ain’t lies if it’s true!” I yelled back, glaring at her.
Sir barked.
A laugh bubbled in Tori’s throat. She tilted her head and stuck her hand on her hip. “Please. I’m sure you’re still able to bang everything with a pulse, as usual, which means you’re fine. Get over it, Jamie, and grow some balls. I cried less when I watched Bambi the first time.”
“Who’s hungry?” Syd asked nonchalantly, moving behind her girl to round the island and stand near the stove.
I ignored her question because, What the fuck? Grow some balls?
Fuck her.
“I gotta pair, babe,” I told Legs, reaching down and palming my shit. “You should know since you’ve been all up on ’em the past nine months.”
She rolled her eyes, spitting, “You’re disgusting.”
I felt my mouth twitch.
And that was when, for some fucked-up reason, I reverted back to my old ways with Tori Rivera, forgetting all about how much I fucking hated her and instead going full-on, hell-bent determined to get an admission out of that smart-ass mouth.
“You want it,” I countered, tipping my chin up.
She wasn’t expecting that. No more than I was. It threw her off.
Her shoulders pulled back and her lips parted.
Then, maybe to cover her tell, or maybe she didn’t have control over what was flying out of her mouth either, I didn’t know, but she brought her other hand to her hip, glared at me with heat flashing in her eyes, tipped forward, and shot back with attitude, “You want it.”
Well, shit. This was new. Legs was challenging me and she was doing it flirting. There was no doubt in my mind.
“Sorry, babe,” I said, keeping the smirk and letting go of my junk. “Not interested. I told you yesterday, I’m done waitin’ around. But you?” I pointed my beer at her. “You’ll be beggin’ for it before the month is up. Just watch.”
“Fat chance,” she snapped. “I wouldn’t sleep with you if my life depended on it.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Bet what?”
“What’s going on right now?” Syd called out, but I wasn’t pausing to answer her.
I smiled at Tori, then gestured between us, explaining, “First one to break and come crawling to the other person for sex loses.”
“Are you serious?” She laughed, not in amusement but in disbelief.
“Fuck this. I’m eating,” Dash announced, stepping around me and joining Syd, I guessed. I wasn’t watching him.
I was watching her.
“Yeah, I’m serious,” I answered.
“You want to bet me that I’ll want to have sex with you before you try and have sex with me?” she questioned, moving her finger between us. “You, the guy who has been hitting on me for nine straight months and has been rejected for nine straight months? You seriously think I’ll not only want to have sex with you, but I’ll beg you for it? Is that what I just heard?”
I nodded slowly.
That fucking moan. I had this in the bag.
Tori thought on my offer for a second, keeping her eyes on me and keeping them steady, then when she was finished, she crossed her arms under her chest and huffed, “No way. I’m not betting that.”
I smiled bigger.
“Knew you wanted it,” I replied.
“No,” she quickly shot back. “I just know you. You’ll keep your dick happy by nailing every piece of ass in Dogwood so you don’t break and beg me for sex. I’m not stupid.”
“The happy you’re feeling right now, I’d really like you to keep hold of that through dinner,” she requested with soft eyes and a small voice.
I shot her an odd look, turned that look to Dash, and saw he was wearing one similar—he didn’t know what she was driving at either—then looked back down at Syd.
“Say again?”
“You’re happy. Keep it,” she pressed. “Even when you don’t want to, which could possibly happen, just focus on this feeling making you happy right now and let it take over.”
“Babe, what the fuck are you talking about?” Dash questioned, stealing the words out of my mouth.
“Yeah, and can we head in and talk about this while we fuckin’ eat? I’m starvin’,” I threw out, just in case she didn’t know the urgency here.
Syd briefly glanced at Dash, ignoring his question. Then when Sir ran over to us, she scooped him up and gave him a kiss on the back of his head. “I’d like confirmation you’ll be keeping the happy before we step inside,” she demanded, tipping her chin up and meeting my eyes.
Again, I looked to Dash.
He was looking at his girl and he was doing it with eyes searching for understanding, so I did the same.
I sighed. “Whatever, Sunshine. If it’ll put food in my mouth, fine,” I told her, moving past because I was sick of waiting and wasn’t lying when I said I was starving. “Consider it confir—”
The word died on my tongue the second I stepped inside the house and got an eyeful of Legs standing at the island.
Fucking Legs. At Sunday dinner.
What. The. Fuck.
I stared at her, looking my fill as Syd and Dash came into the house behind me.
Her long blond hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail, which made my dick hard for some fucking reason. She wasn’t wearing much makeup except for that red lip I wanted to bite, and her hotass body was decorated in a blue, floral, hippie-looking, ugly-as-shit dress that wasn’t ugly one fucking bit ’cause she was wearing it.
To top that off, she was holding a pie. Looking like Miss Fucking America entering a bake-off.
If it looked like shit, I wouldn’t care. But it didn’t.
It looked good. Real good. And I was starving.
Goddamned motherfucker.
“What the fuck?” I bellowed, causing Tori to jerk back and flinch. I gestured at her. “Your schedule changed that last minute? I just verified two fuckin’ hours ago that you weren’t gonna be here.”
“What?” she questioned softly, setting the pie down in front of her and looking between me and Syd. “I wasn’t scheduled to work today. What are you talking about?”
I slowly turned my head to look at Sunshine, who was keeping her eyes on the puppy in her arms and obviously avoiding.
“What is she doing here? I thought you told Dash she was workin’?” I questioned.
“She told me you knew I was coming and were okay with it,” Tori announced, drawing my head back around.
My eyes narrowed. “What?” I grated.
“Babe, really?” Dash said.
He knew nothing about this either. It was all Sunshine. That was clear.
I breathed deep through my nose, searching for calm.
“I just thought this would be a nice way to smooth things over,” Syd said quietly, offering up an explanation. “You know, break bread and all.”
“Bad idea, Wild,” Dash replied.
I looked from Dash to Syd, echoing, “Yeah, bad idea. She ran me over, Sunshine. You forgettin’ that? So why the fuck would I be okay with sharing a meal with her?”
Tori slapped the counter and gained everyone’s attention when she started yelling, “I did not run you over! Jesus Christ! Quit spreading lies about me!”
“It ain’t lies if it’s true!” I yelled back, glaring at her.
Sir barked.
A laugh bubbled in Tori’s throat. She tilted her head and stuck her hand on her hip. “Please. I’m sure you’re still able to bang everything with a pulse, as usual, which means you’re fine. Get over it, Jamie, and grow some balls. I cried less when I watched Bambi the first time.”
“Who’s hungry?” Syd asked nonchalantly, moving behind her girl to round the island and stand near the stove.
I ignored her question because, What the fuck? Grow some balls?
Fuck her.
“I gotta pair, babe,” I told Legs, reaching down and palming my shit. “You should know since you’ve been all up on ’em the past nine months.”
She rolled her eyes, spitting, “You’re disgusting.”
I felt my mouth twitch.
And that was when, for some fucked-up reason, I reverted back to my old ways with Tori Rivera, forgetting all about how much I fucking hated her and instead going full-on, hell-bent determined to get an admission out of that smart-ass mouth.
“You want it,” I countered, tipping my chin up.
She wasn’t expecting that. No more than I was. It threw her off.
Her shoulders pulled back and her lips parted.
Then, maybe to cover her tell, or maybe she didn’t have control over what was flying out of her mouth either, I didn’t know, but she brought her other hand to her hip, glared at me with heat flashing in her eyes, tipped forward, and shot back with attitude, “You want it.”
Well, shit. This was new. Legs was challenging me and she was doing it flirting. There was no doubt in my mind.
“Sorry, babe,” I said, keeping the smirk and letting go of my junk. “Not interested. I told you yesterday, I’m done waitin’ around. But you?” I pointed my beer at her. “You’ll be beggin’ for it before the month is up. Just watch.”
“Fat chance,” she snapped. “I wouldn’t sleep with you if my life depended on it.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Bet what?”
“What’s going on right now?” Syd called out, but I wasn’t pausing to answer her.
I smiled at Tori, then gestured between us, explaining, “First one to break and come crawling to the other person for sex loses.”
“Are you serious?” She laughed, not in amusement but in disbelief.
“Fuck this. I’m eating,” Dash announced, stepping around me and joining Syd, I guessed. I wasn’t watching him.
I was watching her.
“Yeah, I’m serious,” I answered.
“You want to bet me that I’ll want to have sex with you before you try and have sex with me?” she questioned, moving her finger between us. “You, the guy who has been hitting on me for nine straight months and has been rejected for nine straight months? You seriously think I’ll not only want to have sex with you, but I’ll beg you for it? Is that what I just heard?”
I nodded slowly.
That fucking moan. I had this in the bag.
Tori thought on my offer for a second, keeping her eyes on me and keeping them steady, then when she was finished, she crossed her arms under her chest and huffed, “No way. I’m not betting that.”
I smiled bigger.
“Knew you wanted it,” I replied.
“No,” she quickly shot back. “I just know you. You’ll keep your dick happy by nailing every piece of ass in Dogwood so you don’t break and beg me for sex. I’m not stupid.”
