“You’re so very skittish, Rosebud.” Not a lie. “I went for a run,andI saw Noah.” A white lie, really. And for the greater good. “You know Noah would never.” That is not a lie, and I deliverit with heavy meaning. Hoping she gets out of her head and doesn’t cause trouble where there is none.
She clucks her tongue and then grunts something like agreement, but there is still something else simmering about her and I tilt my head in her direction.
“A little fired up, Rosebud?” I let my voice drop and make an effort to trail my eyes up and down her body. She takes a retreating step, her expression changing from annoyed to heated in a blink.
“A little pent-up energy. Nothing Viv can’t handle for me.” Her words are meant to taunt, and instead it’s a bucket of cold water and a reminder of where I’m supposed to be right now.
On a groan, I plaster myself against her wall, scrunching my eyes closed and letting my almost-boner shrivel to nothing.
“You need to pick a new name for your vibrator, Rosie.”
“You’re entirely too sensitive about vibrator names.” She snickers, and then she’s shoving at me. “Get out, I need a shower.”
“Nothing I haven’t seen before.” I wink at her but let her heave me out of the room. Before she can close the door, I turn. I know we don’t owe each other anything, but for some reason I like to let her know my movements, in case…you know, she needs me for…something.
“I’m about to head to my dad’s, so I’ll be out for a bit.” I grimace, really hating the fact I need to get this over with. She chuckles lightly, her head resting against the door as it remains half open.
“Not keen?” She guesses correctly.
“God no. Will be the longest afternoon of my life.” I huff a self-deprecating breath, feeling awfully sorry for myself, before giving her a tight-lipped smile and spinning. I’m almost all the way at the end of her hall when I hear her mumble something under her breath.
“Wait.” I stop and spin, confused at her interruption. “Do you…” She grunts, tossing her head back and swearing something in Spanish, which I think was some form of her regretting whatever decision she’s made. “Would you like…company?” She seems resigned, her eyes daring me to tease her about the offer and promising death if I do. I bite my lip to hide my laugh and clear my throat of the retort. Instead, I walk slowly back toward her until I’m right in her face. I might be able to hide the smugness I feel at her olive branch of an offer, but I certainly can’t hide the way her actuallyofferingis making me feel like a kid at Christmas.
I reach out to one of her loose curls and twirl it around my finger as I smile down at her, admiring her no-bullshit expression and the fire in her eyes. “I’d love it.” And because I love to torture myself, I lean down and press a kiss to her lips. Nothing demanding or filthy, it’s soft and hopefully telling her that I don’t take back my earlier words, but I’m just going to wait for her answer. Her little intake of breath has me pulling away slowly, satisfied that I have shocked her enough. I pull on that curl again and then spin and head for my own shower.
A cold one.
“Well this is quaint,” Rosie teases as we climb out of the Uber at the front of my dad’s house. Certainly nothing to brag about, this place. It definitely shows the scars of a single father who worked three jobs and a fourteen-year-old boy who worked two. I grunt an acknowledgment, kind of regretting agreeing to bring Rosie along, but she’s tough, she can handle herself around theseidiots. And really, if she can handle her own family’s shit, mine will be a walk in the park.
“Welcome to my childhood.” I gesture with sarcasm as we stand on the sidewalk gazing at the plain house with a dilapidated garden and fence that’s falling to pieces.
“So, how’d you go from this to a new Tom Ford every day and an apartment in Tribeca?” she teases, and I look down at her, her hands on her hips as she scans the house with a confused pout on her pretty face.
“See, I knew you were obsessed with me.” I poke her shoulder and she shoves me playfully with a sneer.
“You’re delusional.”
“And you’re keeping track of my suits.” I flick her on the nose because watching her scrunch it…just like that, is probably the most adorable thing ever. She swats at my hand.
“I’m a fan of fashion, I note the labels and the styles. It’s less about you and more about an appreciation for designers.” She gives me an adorable snobby pout and I push open the squeaky front gate to make our way up the path to the front porch. I can’t help but chuckle at her feigned annoyance. “Plus, it’syouwho’s obsessed with me. Don’t think I didn’t pick up on the Chanel cologne you got—my favorite designer—or your habit of drinking your coffee black.” She looks up at me like she’s won gold, and I can’t even correct her. I just roll my eyes, unable to hide my smile.
“You’re so annoying.” I grunt at her.
“Ha!You love it,”she teases in a voice I assume is mocking me. I want to pick her up and throw her against this wall and maul her. Everything about being with Rosie is so easy, and something about the teasing, her warm skin, her tiny bits of clothing, and the fact she offered to come here just really, really makes me want to kiss the shit out of her.
“Are you ready for this? It isn’t pretty,” I ask, stopping before we get to the porch to really look at her. Her teasing smile drops into a pout, her all-knowing eyes analyzing me in the way she does, and if I wasn’t already so comfortable with Rosie knowing all the yucky parts of my life, it might feel too vulnerable. But I’m learning that having Rosie know these parts of me actually isn’t all that scary.
“Nothing I can’t handle.” She shrugs and smiles hesitantly up at me. Her whiskey eyes gleam and I get lost in them for a moment. “Areyouready?” She pokes at my shoulder, but when I open my mouth to answer her, I’m cut short by the opening of the front door.
“Well, are you coming inside, or are you just going to stand out in the heat like an idiot?” Dad’s words are meant to tease, but the way his eyes simmer with something unpleasant has me giving him the same hateful smile back.
“Pops. Good to see you too.” His face brightens a touch with a flat smile that tells me, underneath his ego and pride, he does truly feel joy that I’m here. I just wish his reluctance to show it didn’t sting so much.
I shake his outstretched hand and let him pull me into a backslap embrace. “Surprised you even recognized me. Did you remember the address or have to look me up?” Of course, he can’t help but dig at how long it has been since I’ve been home. I don’t point out that it’s a two-way street and he doesn’t evenknowmy address. Instead, I offer a fake laugh at his “joke”and politely pull away from his embrace, giving him a placating smile. I quickly move a hand to Rosie’s lower back, ushering her forward. It’s not until my hand presses to the warmth of the skin there that peaks out between her tank and denim cutoffs, that I realize what I’m even doing. When she is standing a bit closer, I quickly move my hand, clearing my throat of the air suddenly trapped there.
“Pops, this is my friend Rosie; Rosie, this is my dad, Robert.” I gesture between them. Rosie has that same confident stance: chin raised, shoulders back.
“Lovely to meet you.” She thrusts a hand between, wearing her usual mask of pleasantness that hides all her snarky. He takes it, his eyes assessing her up and down in a way I’m familiar with. Not inappropriate, just trying to work out her angle. Guy doesn’t trust easily and it has the hairs on the back of my neck raised. I hadn’t realized how tightly wound I was until his expression changes to a nice smile…a hell of a lot nicer than he’s ever directed at me.
