Page 25

brIELLE

I sat on the couch with Ser’s legs on my lap, half-eaten pints of ice cream on the coffee table and yet another romantic comedy playing on the TV. Mal had invited my little sis over, and they’d planned an intervention to get that asshole out of my head.

My eyes were still red rimmed from how cold Ares had been the night before. “I still can’t believe it.” Oh no, that was out loud.

“Believe it. All men are assholes now and again,” Mal commiserated.

“Make it easier on yourself and change teams.” Ser winked, making both me and Mal laugh.

“If only.” Mal sighed. “It would be so nice to be with someone who understood all the crap we go through as girls.”

“You’re talking about chocolate again, aren’t you?” That brought a smile to my face.

Mal was downright terrifying if someone ate her chocolate when it was one of those days she needed some. I’d done it once and had never repeated the sin. I’d thought her head would spin full circle. But I got it. I was that way too. So was Ser.

“Hormones are a bitch. ”

“They are,” Ser agreed.

“Not to side with men.” Mal rolled her eyes. “But I do get their unnatural rage. Remember that time the doc switched my birth control pills?”

“Holy shit.” I chuckled. “That was hell week on steroids.”

“Right? Talk about hormone imbalance. Tri-whatever-it-was-called was an unnatural mix of hormones that caused instant rage.”

“Didn’t you get into that fight at the bookstore then?” Ser pulled her long dark-brown hair over her shoulder.

I loved her hair. Our coloring was so different, and she’d gotten the better end of the gene pool in my opinion. She, of course, would have preferred my eye color but was happy with her hair.

“Yep. Someone bumped my leg with their bag, and a tidal wave of rage consumed me. It was the weirdest thing, but I think that’s the closest I’ll ever feel to what it’s like being a guy.”

It explained Ares’s hair-trigger response to the viper squad.

I pressed my lips into a tight line. I didn’t want to forgive him.

But I got it. They’d insinuated I was using him, and no one wanted that.

Not really. Still, he knew me well enough that someone calling my character into question shouldn’t have stuck.

Right? Or is it just my body he knows inside and out?

I worried my lip, and Ser reached over and tugged a lock of my hair.

“Your head is going to explode with all that thinking. Share with the class, sis.”

“I don’t want to see his side of things.”

“Then don’t.” Mal’s voice was hard. “He had no right to treat you that way.”

I studied her, noting the dark circles under her eyes for the first time. “What happened?” A light bulb went on in my head. “Oh no, I’m an asshole. Did Brett break up with you?”

A tear rolled down her cheek. Her fingers swiped at it angrily. “I did after I caught him with his tongue halfway down Suzie Rubin’s throat.”

“What a fucker,” Ser sneered.

“Rat bastard,” I growled and pulled her in for a hug. “Is that why you were going to break up with him? Was he cheating?”

“There were rumors, and… I didn’t want to believe them.”

“But his wandering eye keyed you in?”

She’d mentioned it once or twice. I hadn’t been sure there was anything to it at the time. He’d been crazy about her. I couldn’t help wondering what had changed.

“It’s for the best. We were fighting more often than not, and the sex was just… routine.”

Ser shuddered. “I can’t even.” She gagged.

It had the desired effect I knew my sis was going for.

Mal burst out laughing. “I’m glad you’re here, Ser.

You’re good for my soul.” She wiped her eyes, and her shoulders dropped an inch as the tension eased from them.

“He’s not worth it. I don’t think I’ve been into him for the past month.

I should have ended things weeks ago, but we’d been together for so long that I kept convincing myself it was just a bump in the road and things would return to how they were.

” Mal pasted on a half-hearted smile. “Enough about us. How’s your dating life, Ser?

Please let it be good because we both need some bolstering that relationships are worth it. ”

She spread her arms and laughed. “I’m here to tell you I’m officially dating Remi Monroe—and to lay your fears to rest. Things are fucking phenomenal.”

“She’s older, isn’t she?” Mal asked.

I needed to know more about that too. All I knew was that she was a barista at the coffee place around the corner from her and Mom’s apartment.

“She’s nineteen and took a year off after graduating to save money. She’ll start at Fall Lake U after Christmas. It’s nice that she’s not connected to the psycho trust fund squad that Mom insists I socialize with. She’s sincere and real, and I’m crazy about her.”

I squeezed her ankle, which was still on my lap. “I’m happy for you. And back to Mom’s delusions, is she on your back all the time?”

“Nah. It’s bad on Sundays because she doesn’t always have luncheons at the country club with her fake friends. Those are the hardest, so thanks for opening your dorm to me. It removes the pressure.”

Mal flicked Ser’s toe. “You’ve got a key. Come here anytime.” She shot me a sly look. “Brielle’s rarely here at night anyway. You can always sleep in her room.”

“You can, but I’ll probably be here now because Ares is an ass.”

“Girl, that’s temporary. With all the sex you two are having, there’s no way he’ll just quit that.”

“Hmm,” I said noncommittally.

I wasn’t so sure. The guy had moves and stamina. He wouldn’t have a problem finding my replacement. A loud knock rapped against our door, and I jumped at the same time as Mal. We were both on edge with heightened emotional boy drama.

Ser swung her long legs off my lap and stood. “I’ll get it. Any messages for the asshole brigade if it’s one of them?”

I pursed my lips, holding my tongue. I wasn’t sure how I felt. Ser just nodded at me, understanding because she was awesome.

Mal shook her head, eyes narrowed to slits. “If it’s for me, tell him he can go to hell. I don’t want to talk to him. Ever.”

“With pleasure,” Ser purred. She was good like that, always had our backs. No one could cross her if she put her mind and sarcastic mouth to it.

I refused to turn around. Mal did the same.

We went back to staring at the paused TV, not even bothering to restart the movie.

It was also one of the funniest parts when Isla Fisher and Zach Galifianakis—playing the parts of the Gaffneys in Keeping Up with the Joneses —were in the car shootout.

It cracked me up every time, so of course, it was paused.

None of us could miss out on that scene while we were diving deep into the feels.

“That’s a start,” Ser said.

I could picture her barring the entrance, but I didn’t turn, even when I heard the deep timbre of Ares’s voice as he asked to speak to me.

Ser said something too low for me to hear—probably threatening him.

I could see her doing that because she had before.

If I hadn’t already said it, my sis was fucking amazing.

I had to find a way to pay for her school.

I didn’t want her to struggle as much as I had or have the terrifying student loans that I’d amassed the past two years.

“Brie, you have a groveler here,” Ser called, her voice getting closer. “Don’t disappoint. He has lots to atone for.”

I took a breath, wishing I could do something about my red-rimmed eyes, and turned to see him. He stood about three feet from the door, waiting for me to decide what to do, a bouquet of yellow roses clutched in his large hand. I couldn’t help but read into the color—friendship.

“Stop overanalyzing,” Mal whispered.

I shot her an annoyed glance before squeezing her hand. “Will you be okay?”

She chuckled. “Already made up your mind, huh? Can’t say I blame you.” When I worried my lip, her shield fell, and her resolve hardened. “I’m good, promise. Ser’s here.”

“You’re staying?” I swung my gaze to my sister.

“Yeah, Mom’ll still be awake. I might sleep over and just take an Uber to school. I thought ahead.” She gestured to her backpack in the corner by the front door. “I left a message for her so she can’t freak out on me.”

“Okay.”

I felt terrible and hesitated until they both pushed me to my feet then restarted the movie— without me . I closed the distance between me and Ares, accepting the flowers when he held them out. I refused to say anything, though.

“I’m sorry for being a jerk, Brielle. Those girls just hit a trigger for me, and I reacted before thinking it through.”

I nodded, but I refused to let it go completely.

“You hurt me, not because we’re in a relationship, since we aren’t, but because I thought we were friends.

At least to the point that you would know my character and not some bullshit picture Tiffany painted.

” I turned on my heel and went to put the flowers in a vase, swiping at the stupid tears that threatened to spill before he could see them.

I didn’t need that embarrassment. It was bad enough I looked awful, and I was sure he could tell I’d been crying.

We didn’t have a table, as the dorm suite was small, but the peninsula was perfect for the flowers. As I set them down, strong arms banded around my waist. I wanted to resist, but it felt too good to be held, and I melted against him as the truth of my feelings solidified—I’d missed him.

It was dangerous and not ideal for the arrangement we’d agreed upon, but it was undeniable, and I would have to keep those feelings deeply buried.

I suspected the fake dating thing would crash and burn around my feet if I didn’t.

But he’d made it clear, as had I, that we didn’t want more.

The truth was, I was a big fat liar based on my feelings.

He leaned down and whispered, “Come back to my condo to talk. I shouldn’t have left things like I did last night.”

I shivered from his lips against the shell of my ear.