Page 25 of Soul Mates: Hercules Valentine and I

“If you want to keep her around. Personally, I’m tired of spraying down the walls after her night’s conquest jerks off in the shower. And then there’s one that’s always leaving a log in the toilet.”

“Ugh,” I say, contorting my face with disgust. “That guy.”

“Yeah, that guy.”

The girl sitting across from me is a contradiction. She’s tilting her head and twisting her mouth as if she’s Cinderella, wheeling and dealing like one of those characters in Cassius Marcellus Coolidge’s portrait of dogs playing poker.

The waitress sets a basket of bread on our table. We both dig in, slathering our rolls with butter.

“What I’m saying is it’s not my place to lay down the law in your suite,” she says.

I jerk my head back. “My suite.”

“Yes, yours. Treasure made it clear that you’re in charge.”

I shake my head as I chew. Sometimes, my cousin just goes too far when it comes to her need to control others. Hierarchies are way too important to her.

“It’s our suite, Eden.”

She scrunches up her face, and her groan indicates the contrary. “No, it’s not.”

“Yes, it is,” I insist.

“You really do suck at social politics.”

“But this isn’t about social politics. This is about us being students and where we live. And…”

My mouth is caught open.What the…He’s seated at the bar, and he just swiveled his chair to get a look at the room. His face is so perfect, from the delicious cleft in his chin to his penetrating pale-blue eyes. As it used to be in high school, our gazes have connected. It’s Hercules Valentine.

Chapter Twelve

Get Under To Get Over

Paisley Grove

Itry to give away nothing as Eden and I drink our expresso martinis and devour lobster, shrimp, and crab with steak fries. Whenever my eyes gravitate toward Hercules, I see that he’s downing drink after drink. Something isn’t right. His shoulders slouch, and his demeanor is starkly different from that of his drinking partner, who occasionally hangs onto Hercules’s shoulder as he talks in his ear and then pulls away to let out a loud hoot.

Damn it. I wish I dressed better and wore makeup.

Eden has just articulated a long list of tasks Dandi fails to do as a roommate, including taking the trash out of her bedroom and buying her own tampons.

“She does make a mean Pop-Tart, though,” I say.

Eden snorts. “Now she makes jokes.”

I roll my eyes as I chew on a succulent piece of crab leg. The food here is really good.

“Then we’re on the same page, right?” Eden asks.

The guy who’s with Hercules lets out a loud laugh, and suddenly, Eden sounds like she’s speaking to me from across the room. “Huh?”

“Who do you keep looking at over there?” she asks, louder than I’m comfortable with. “That guy?”

I swallow a gasp as she points toward Hercules and his friend, who catches sight of Eden and grins at her with googly eyes. He says something to Hercules.

I reach for Eden’s hand and squeeze it. “Will you stop pointing at strangers? Has anyone ever told you that’s rude?”

“I know you never go out to meet anybody, but as they say, the best way to get over a cheater like what's-his-name is to get under a cock like his.” She’s looking directly at Hercules.