Page 30 of Reckless Storm (San Francisco End Game #3)

Reed

I ’m still reeling from my kiss with Hayley—my mind struggling to process the feelings coursing through me—when she walks away. Luke follows after her and I stare intently, watching them go. My head spins, and I’m so consumed by my thoughts that when someone tugs on my arm, I startle.

“Fuck.”

“Sorry.” Bria laughs from beside me, drawing my attention. “Happy New Year.”

“Of course.” I force a smile. “Happy New Year. Are you having a good night? I’ve barely seen you.” My eyes flit to where Hayley’s talking to Amelia, before moving back to Bria, confusion swirling inside me.

“I’m surprised you were even looking. That was some kiss.”

“Can’t ring in the new year without one.” I force a chuckle this time, but Bria shakes her head.

“We’ve spent plenty of New Year’s Eve’s together and never once kissed.”

Jesus … this is new and the worst fucking timing. “That’s true, but we’re friends. Remember? Hayley’s my girlfriend.”

Bria’s eyes bulge and her gaze darts in Hayley’s direction. “Your girlfriend now? I thought you were just ‘seeing how things went.’”

I cringe because I shouldn’t have worded it that way. “We were. We are . But she’s still my girlfriend. So…” I trail off and Bria turns back to face me, a soft smile in place.

“Yeah. I get it.” She pauses, sucking in a breath. “It’s strange, you know.”

“What is?”

“Seeing you with a girl. I mean, I know you’re not a virgin. Or at least I assumed that after catching girls sneaking out of your room in college, but actually seeing you with someone…it’s different.”

I stare at her, my expression void of emotion, and she laughs. “Don’t mind me. I don’t know what I’m saying.”

What. The. Fuck? We have never spoken about this before. Ever. What are you trying to tell me, Bria?

She glances away shyly and it’s like someone has stabbed me in the chest. She’s not jealous per se, but she’s definitely upset about the change in dynamic between us, and I have a bad feeling our friendship isn’t going to survive this.

“Don’t worry, I’ll still have time for us.” I test the waters, watching closely for her reaction. “Hayley’s incredibly understanding about our friendship. She knows how close we are and she’d never want that to change.”

“Wow. Great.” Her tone lacks enthusiasm and I almost call her out. “I’m so happy you found someone like that. She sounds perfect.”

“Hayley’s great. You’re going to love her.”

“I’m sure I will.”

She smiles again but it’s so obviously forced that it pisses me off.

Rather than giving me a spark of excitement at the prospect of realizing she might actually have feelings for me, I’m angered.

She’s supposed to be supportive of this.

She’s been talking about the men in her life for months and I was expected to be happy about it.

“She’s on her way back,” I say, my smile widening to greet Hayley. “We should all go and get some air.”

“Actually,”—Bria grimaces, taking a step back as she points behind her—“Andreas is waiting for me. Have a good night, Reed.”

She squeezes my arm as she walks away, letting it linger for a few seconds longer than she normally would, and I stare down at her hand.

She’s clearly not herself, and in the past I would have gone after her, begging her to tell me what’s wrong.

But when Hayley smiles hesitantly in front of me, the rest of the room disappears.

“Are you okay?” she asks, her voice full of concern. “How did that go?”

I stare at her for a beat, working her questions around in my mind, and when I answer, I completely surprise myself.

“I’m great. It’s a new year, we’re going to make the playoffs, and we have a shot to win the Super Bowl again.

Life is good. And to top it all off, I have the most beautiful woman by my side. ”

“The most beautiful?”

“Don’t pretend you don’t know that. I mean, just look.” I wave a hand around the room as Hayley’s eyes follow, a flirty smile in place, until she shivers.

“I’d say I'm in the top three.” She forces her grin to return and I want to laugh, but something about her expression has my hackles rising.

“What made you shiver?”

“What?”

“You shivered just now. What’s going on?”

“Oh. You caught that.” She grimaces before hitting me with another fake grin until I hold my stare and she sighs in resignation. “Okay, fine. All night I’ve had this feeling like someone is watching me. I can’t explain it. I’ve just felt off.”

She shivers again and I stand tall, my muscles stiffening as I search around the space, seeking out anyone looking in our direction, and there are plenty of options. I’d say we’re a big talking point right now. But are any of them threats? My fists clench and Hayley laughs.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m looking for someone. Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Honestly…because I thought it was Bria. Or that I was imagining it.”

“I don’t mean to scare you, Hayls. But you’re kind of a big name. Please don’t ignore your gut. If you’re worried, tell me. Tell anyone. And don’t go anywhere alone.”

“Okay, Dad.” She rolls her eyes. “I’ll make sure to take a friend with me when I go to the bathroom.”

“I’m serious, Hayls. After the conversation I just had with Bria, it could very well be her, but what if it’s not?” A nervous energy settles in my chest, but I try to ignore it as my eyes bore into hers.

“All right. I’ll be careful.” She nods and it’s then I relax, thankful that something I said got through to her.

“Thank you.” I smile, not bothering to hide my relief in my sigh.

“You know you’re kind of hot when you get protective like that?”

“Hayley, you think I’m hot all the time .”

“It’s true, I do. No point in denying it.” She hits me with a coy smile and while I’m certain it’s fake, it smacks me in the chest. I meant what I said—she’s the most beautiful girl in the room, and tonight she’s by my side, much to the disappointment of most of the guys in this room.

“So, what happened with Bria?” Hayley interrupts my thoughts and I freeze.

Bria’s here.

Bria’s in this room, and for the first time, I’m consumed by somebody else.

Wow . Progress. I think.

“Earth to Reed.” Hayley waves in my face, trying to get my attention. “You’re thinking about her now, aren’t you? Do you need me to kiss you again so you’ll snap out of it?”

I shake off my thoughts and laugh. “I’m pretty sure I kissed you .”

“Same, same.”

“But different.”

“Sure, okay. But I need to know. What happened?”

“I’m not really sure to be honest.” I frown, still confused by her reaction. “She was happy and then she wasn’t. Then she said she was but she was definitely lying.”

“So she was jealous?” Hayley’s frown rivals my own and my confusion deepens.

“I don’t know. Despite having two female best friends, as you like to point out, when it comes to this stuff, I’m lost.”

Hayley bites back a grin as she grabs my arm, giving me a comforting squeeze. “Oh, Reedy boy, you’re just too nice. Want me to find out?”

“What? How?”

“I have my ways.” She glances up at me, her eyes peeking through her thick lashes.

“Why does that scare me?”

Her laughter fills the air and I panic. “It should.” She tugs her bottom lip between her teeth, releasing it slowly. “One day I might use my powers on you.” She points at my chest and my gaze follows before lifting back to her eyes.

“What powers?”

She stares at me for a second before taking a step closer and hitting me with a devastating frown, the sadness in her eyes something I haven’t seen before.

“I don’t know what to do.” She sucks her lips into her mouth as her eyes water and my heart breaks.

“Reed and I just started dating. And I think…I think he has feelings for someone else. What if he never gets over her? Am I crazy? You know him better than anyone else. What should I do?” A lone tear slides down her cheek and emotion clogs my throat.

But when she smirks, I’m snapped out of it.

“ Hell . That was Oscar worthy.”

“Right?” Her proud smile makes me laugh uncomfortably. I knew what she was doing and I still fell for it. But…

“Do you really think that could work? On Bria?”

“Yep. She'll either tell me you’re a good guy and that she’ll suss it out for me, or she’ll admit my concerns are warranted and that you do have feelings for someone else. And that she’s not sure you’ll ever get over them.”

“What if she reacts another way entirely?”

“Whatever she says will be telling. I know it.”

My nose scrunches as I contemplate her idea.

This is the first night Bria’s seen us together.

She probably needs time to warm up to the idea.

After all, we’ve been best friends for over ten years, and I’ve never so much as kissed a girl in front of her or even mentioned one.

“Let’s keep that in our back pocket in case we need it,” I say after giving it some thought.

“I think she’ll reveal her feelings soon enough. ”

“I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Reed. You just have to ask.” She smiles and damn , why did that make my cock twitch?

“Want to dance?” she asks, changing the subject, completely unaware of my little problem.

I laugh to distract myself, shaking my head. “Nope. I’m going to get a stiff drink. Do you want anything?”

“Less drinking.” She pouts. “Remember?”

I cringe. “Sorry.”

“That’s okay. I don’t mind. I can still have fun without it. I’ll see you in a bit. After I’ve worked up a sweat.”

She runs her hands down her body as she shimmies, and while it looks innocent enough, my gaze follows, my thoughts anything but innocent, imagining her working up a sweat in ways that have nothing to do with dancing.

Her body bouncing on top of mine, her hair stuck to her face and… Holy shit. What the fuck?

Once again oblivious to my inner madness, Hayley presses her lips to my cheek and sashays away, grabbing Keeley’s hand as she moves past, dragging her from where she’s talking to Zane.