Give Me Something (17 page)

“
What the fuck are you talking about?  I haven't done anything but what you asked me to do.”

“
I didn't ask you to go and fall in love with him, did I?”

My eyes narrowed. “I'm not in love with him.”

“Are you just lying to me or are you lying to yourself, too?  You looked pretty cozy with him this morning. I'd say it's already gone a lot further than you'd promised.  And what about what he said to all the guys, about dropping you after you give it up?”

“
I don't think it's true.  I think he actually cares about me, Nick.”

“
Don't be so stupid, Lila,” he fumed.

You know that scene in the cartoon where smoke comes out of a character's ears?  I was pretty sure that was what I looked like at this point.  It wasn't the fact that Nick was insinuating that I'd become intimate with Tucker; it was the fact that he was the one who insisted I do this job in the first place.  Now, he was trying to tell me what was and wasn't acceptable.  On top of that he just called me stupid.  I thought another part of me was pissed off that I had to deny having any feelings for Tucker at all.  I walk over to the closet, dug up the black duffel bag, and tossed it on the bed. In my cartoon rage, I quickly unzipped and spilled the contents on the bed.  The wigs, the IDs and the stacks of money that were contained within were now strewn across the 800 thread-count duvet that covered my bed.

“Take the fucking money,” I hissed.  “I'm done!”

I watched Nick's jaw clench as he slowly stood and walked toward me.  I held my breath as he approached, I could see the heat in his eyes as he closed the distance between us.

“I told you before. I don't want
your
money,” he said, inches from me.  His hands quickly moved up to cradle my face.  With a heavy urgency, he pressed his lips to mine. His tongue begged for entrance into my mouth as his hands trailed down my body, settling on my waist and tightly pulling my body against his.  I tried to fight back the taunting feeling of guilt, but something didn't feel right.  The kiss seemed forced, and as much as I didn't want to admit it all I could think about was Tucker. 

“
Now's not the time, Nick.” I gently pushed his chest and removed his lips from mine. His hand continued down until his was cupping my bottom.

“
Isn't this what you want, Rae?” He pressed his lips to my throat. 

“
I... ” I struggled with my response.

Did I want this? I'd been in love with Nick for so long that it seemed impossible that I didn't.

“Yes, but – ”

“
But nothing,” he whispered as his hand moved up and under my sweater.  His rough fingertips grazed over my skin, but it wasn't the way I remembered.  I'd been waiting for the moment when Nick finally realized how amazing we could be together, but it was turning out to be completely different than I'd imagined.  As much as I wanted it to feel right with Nick, I felt like I was cheating on Tucker.  Nick's hands held on to me like he was certain I was slipping away.  Maybe I was.  This was the first time that I'd ever felt uncomfortable with him.  The ease of our relationship, the ease that I loved so much, had vanished and been replaced by something entirely different.

“
Stop, Nick. This isn't right.  We need to figure some things out before we even attempt to be together.”

He let go of me and crossed his arms over his chest.  The pissy look that accompanied his stance was doing absolutely nothing for me.  I waited for him to stomp his foot or hold his breath like a child.  “Like what?”

“Well first off, we need to end this job.”  Maybe if Tucker was out of the equation, Nick and I could get back to the way we were before.  Out of sight, out of mind.

“
We can't.”

“
Yes,
we can.  I have the money.  We can pay off Belletti.  We can switch schools.  Go somewhere else, just me and you,”  I reasoned.

“
No.  The money has to come from Tucker.”

“
My money, Tucker's money...” I threw my hands up. “What the difference?”

With closed eyes and his lips squeezed tight, Nick took in a deep breath through his nose.  “The difference is...” he hesitated.  “Tucker's my brother.”

“You're what?” I couldn't have heard that right.  I slowly sat down on the bed and looked up at Nick, waiting for his answer.

“
He's my fucking brother.”

$ $ $

Nick spent the next hour filling my head with more information than could possibly be processed.  Apparently, twenty-two years ago James Kline spent a wild weekend in Chicago with one very seductive stripper named Evelyn.  It was no coincidence that Nick and I ended up at this college.  After Evelyn came clean to Nick about the identity of his father, he started researching James Kline, his business, and, more relevant to my situation, Tucker.  Nick spent months planning this out, clearly leaving me out of the loop.

“
I can't believe this.  Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?”

“
I would have, but I thought it would be best if you didn't know.” He sat down next to me and took my hands in his.  “It wasn't supposed to be Tucker.  It was supposed to be my dad.” He corrected himself. “James.  It was supposed to be James.”  That seemed much more logical to me.  James would have been a cake-walk compared to Tucker.

“
But why go through with this after James died?  Tucker shouldn't have to pay for the mistakes your father made.”  For a split second, I envisioned a world where Nick and I were together.  A world where Tucker was nothing more to me than my boyfriend's half-brother.  Unfortunately, that wasn't the reality.  The reality was that no matter how much I wanted to deny it, I did care about Tucker.  Maybe not as much as I cared about Nick, but there was a good possibility that it wasn't that far off.

“
Why didn't you just go to your dad in the first place?  Get to know him?”

“
It's not that cut and dry, Rae.” He frowned.  “James knew about me.  My mom told him the second she found out she was pregnant.  He denied it.”  I placed my hand on his.  I could see how upset this was making him.  “That son of bitch didn't even try to see me. Not once,” he snapped and released my hands when he realized that he'd firmed up his grip in anger.  “All this time.  He was living the life, giving Tucker everything he could ever want, while my mom and I struggled every day.”

“
I'm sorry,” I expressed.  I tried to get through to him.  “It's not your fault.”

“
I know it's not my fault,” he said as if he was shocked that I would even think he thought that way.  “The guy was a selfish prick.  That's why I wanted to do this job so bad.  To finally get a piece of what I deserve.  What he owed me.”

“
I get it,” I explained and stood up to stop his pacing.  “Believe me, I get it.  I grew up with nothing too. But I don't think it's going to make you feel any better if you take the money from Tucker.  It's not his fault either.”

“
Please don't do that,” he said and shook his head.  “Please don't try and make him out to be the victim. Oh, poor little rich boy,” he mocked.  “He won't even miss that money.”

“
That's not what I'm doing.  This is not about Tucker.”

“
Really?!”

“
No.  You're the one I want, Nick.  I just don't see what dragging him into your issues with James is going to accomplish.”

“
Well for one, it's going to help me pay off Belletti.  Another, I'm finally going to get a little bit of what I deserve.  Now, will you please just fucking help me?” he pleaded. 
“Please...” With that he wrapped his arms around my waist and pulled me into him.  “I need you, Rae,” he whispered before placing his lips to mine.  I could feel the desperation as if it were surging through his skin to mine.  Whatever Nick was feeling for the Kline's had taken such a hold on him that he couldn't see anything else.  Maybe it was the stress of owing Belletti or not having the father he thought he deserved, but Nick was completely consumed with seeing this job through.  His hands moved to cradle my face and pull my lips tighter to his.  I started to feel like he was trying to coax an agreement to help him out of my mouth.  It broke my heart to see someone I loved so much so desperate.  When I finally decided what I had to do, I pulled my lips free.

“
Thank you,” he whispered, not waiting to hear what I had decided.

$ $ $

It had been a couple weeks since Nick dropped the bomb on me that Tucker was his brother.  Despite the fact that he insisted we carry on with the plan, I was having some major reservations.  Each time I was with Tucker, I couldn't help but think how great it would be if he and Nick could find a way to have some kind of relationship.  Nick was only seeing dollar signs and revenge for the things his father didn't do for him. 

“
How is that I end up carrying twice as many boxes as you?” I asked Brynn, who was already kicked back on her brand new sofa in her new apartment as I sat down the final box from the back of my car.

“
It's not my fault that you're so much better at moving than I am,” she laughed.  “Now sit and take a load off.”

I rolled my eyes and sat down.  “This place is awesome,” I said, looking around the spacious living room.  “Tell me again how you can afford this place?  Did you call Mommy and Daddy and beg them to put you back on the checking account?”

“Uh, yeah,” she said jumping up and walking over to the open kitchen.  “I had to do something to get out of those dorms.  It was cramping my style to live with all those people and don't even get me started on having to share a bathroom,” she explained as she grabbed two diet sodas and returned to the couch.

“
Well, I think it's great.” I took a can from her hand.  “Don't be surprised if you see more of me now that you have this quiet, co-ed free sanctuary of a living room.”

“
Anytime!” she took a drink.  “So how are things with Tucker?”

“
Well,” I started.  “I think I'm going to...” I paused. “I think I
have
to break up with him?”

“
You what?!  You can't!” she exclaimed with wide eyes before instantly calming down to try to talk some sense into me.  “That's crazy talk.  Why in the world would
have
to break up with him?”

“
It's hard to explain.”  I still wanted to tell Brynn everything, to come clean to someone.  But no matter how much I trusted her or how much I wanted to confess everything, I couldn't.  There was still a chance that she wouldn't understand.  Not to mention, the whole brother thing was bat-shit crazy.  No, there was no way I could tell Brynn anything.  As I sat there trying to find the right lie to feed her, I had a thought.  “Why are you so worried about my relationship with Tucker anyway?”

“
I just think you're making a mistake. I don't know what's going on in that head of yours, but Tucker is perfect for you.”

“
It's not that simple.  I know he's a great guy and I have a great time with him, but – ”

“
But nothing,” she said adamantly and shook her head.  “Is this about Nick?” she blurted out.  “When are you going to realize that the two of you are
never
going to work?”

“
You don't know that,” I snapped back.  “Things between Nick and me could work.”

“
Whatever you think,” she sarcastically replied while rolling her eyes.

“
I gotta go,” I huffed and stood up quickly.  I was thankful that I hadn't confided in Brynn.  She could never understand what I was dealing with or what I was feeling.  Hell, I couldn't even understand it.

“
Don't leave mad,” she pointed out as she followed me to the door.  “I'm just tired of watching you waste your time on him.”

I didn't want to respond.  I was scared I'd say something that I couldn't take back.  I left her with a sigh as I shut the door behind me.  I didn't need Brynn to tell me anything about my relationship with Nick.  We were going to be together. 

Chapter 12

As soon as I left Brynn's I headed straight for Tucker's.  I had to break up with him.  There really wasn't a way around it.  With him out of the picture, maybe I could talk some sense into Nick and we could put this whole thing behind us.  As soon as I ended things with Tucker, I was heading into the city to pay off Belletti with my money.  I knew Nick would never take it willingly so I'd have to go behind his back on this one.

When I walked through the front door of the Sigma house I immediately noticed the crowd of fraternity brothers in the living room, all gathered around the giant flat screen that hung above the fireplace.

“Hey, Lila!” Matt called out, alerting everyone of my arrival.  They all turned to face my direction.

“
Hi,” I said, waving at them all and looking for Tucker's face.  He stood up and made his way over to me.