Keep Me (29 page)

“Sure. Bye, Skylar.”

Skylar sauntered off, making a show of swinging her hips. I knew I had to be in for it! This would be quite the inquisition. I didn’t want to lie, but I didn’t exactly want to tell the truth about how Skylar and I first met. Between Natasha, her sister, and now
this
! I would surely be in the doghouse tonight.

“She seemed nice,” Tessa said through gritted teeth.

“Mhhmmm.” I nodded.

“You know, I might need that drink after all. Can you make me a vodka and tonic with a splash of lemon?”

“Anything for you, pretty girl.” Was that it? Was it over? Please, God, tell me the tension that just took place between those two was a whisper in the wind.

I poured the ingredients for Tessa’s request into a mixer, adding ice and shaking it vigorously. As I emptied the cold concoction into the plastic glass, everything changed.

“I’m a fucking moron, aren’t I?” Tessa’s tongue scraped the top row of her teeth, her eyes welling with tears.

“What are you talking about?”
Fuck! Here it comes!

“You’ve been with that girl, too, haven’t you? Anyone else here you want to point out to me so at least I’m not guessing anymore?”

“Tessa, please. Stop—”

“No!” she cried, as she turned to put Luca in the walking contraption that he loved so much. “I feel like such an idiot! Everyone here just thinks I’m the flavor of the week. I can’t compete with your reputation, Marcus. You have no idea what this feels like.”

She was right. I didn’t know what it felt like, but I wanted to make it go away for her. I slammed down her drink and rounded the bar to embrace her. “Tess, it doesn’t matter what anyone thinks. You are not some ‘flavor’. I’ve never been with a girl more than once, never. Okay, that sounds bad…” I scrubbed my hands down my face. I had to get this out right. “What I mean is… I don’t want to talk about my past. Nothing good can come out of rehashing the who’s, where’s, and when’s, but you have to know that you’re different. You’re not just some girl, some one-night stand. We’re
together
, in a relationship. I’ll shout it to the world if you want me to.”

She shook her head, fighting off more tears. “It doesn’t matter what you say. What’s done is done and no one will ever take us seriously.”

“Fuck everyone else! All that matters is how we see it. I want this. Do you want this?”

I watched the tears spill from her beautiful blue eyes. Her lips quivered and her body shook. Why couldn’t she just say it?

“Are you kidding, Tessa? What the fuck changed in the last five minutes? One girl is going to change your opinion of me? I thought I did all the convincing I needed to do to win you over. Talk about having your feelings hurt. I had to convince you, repeatedly, over and over again to give me a shot. I thought we were past this shit!” Now I was angry. And not even so much angry as totally destroyed. Maybe everyone was right. I wasn’t good enough for her.

Releasing my grip on her arms, I backed up, balling my fists. I needed to get out of here. I didn’t want her or anyone else to see how my heart was being ripped out of my chest right now. “You proved them all right today. Thank you very fucking much.”

I stormed off toward the house, not looking back. I usually avoided feelings for this reason right here. I didn’t need to feel hurt. It was better to be numb.

I
proved them all right? How was this my fault? There I was, minding my own business, casually trying to enjoy my boyfriend’s party and… BAM… I’m slapped in the face with his promiscuous past and the women who were part of it. I wasn’t usually the jealous type, but call it what you may, I had insecurity issues. Especially when it came to Marcus.

I thought I was over the fact that he was a model, his face—and his ass—plastered all over the place, visible to tons of ogling women, but apparently I wasn’t. And that hooch in the fringed number—she put the nail in the coffin. I knew Marcus hadn’t been to the lake house in years. This was the first summer since his mother died that he came back. So that meant Skylar was a recent conquest. My mind played over past conversations with Marcus; weekends he mentioned coming here to fix up the place. Was he with her after we started sleeping together? Before?
Fuck!
It didn’t matter, did it? Up until a week ago we weren’t anything but friends with benefits anyway. I knew I had no right to even question him about it, but it still stung.

“Hey! There you are!” Riley caught me by surprise as she launched herself onto my back, piggy-back style.

I flinched at the initial shock, but then straightened up. I didn’t want her knowing Marcus and I were arguing—if that’s what we were doing. Once she sensed there was even the tiniest bit of trouble in paradise I’d be hearing “I told you so”.

“Way to sneak up and give someone a heart attack, Ry. And why the hell are you in such a good mood?”

Her shoulders danced as she inched her sunglasses down her nose. When they were no longer covering her eyes, she winked, still wordless.

“Spill. You’re being elusive and I don’t very much enjoy elusive Riley.”

She pushed her Guccis back up her nose and placed a hand on her hip. “You don’t like elusive Riley just as much as I don’t like sulking Tessa. What’s up with you? I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours,” she sang.

This was how it
should
be. She was my best friend—besides Marcus of course. I wanted to feel free to confide in her about my boyfriend, the way normal best friends did, but I couldn’t go there with her, not yet. So I hoped she wanted to dish first about whatever had her so stinking happy.

“You first,” I suggested, readying myself for a negotiation.

“Okay, okay. If you insist,” she pulled me by the arm to sit down at the bar.

The drink Marcus had made me was still sitting there untouched so I picked it up and took a sip. Staring past Riley to the house, my thoughts wandered. He must really be pissed to leave
his
party and
his
guests for this long. Had I overreacted? Should I go apologize? Before I could make my decision, Riley was blabbering.

“He’s breaking up with Marissa. He wants to give us a shot. He says that he can’t stop thinking about me and that—Tessa are you listening to what I’m telling you?”

I
was
listening but it was hard to pay attention. I was worried I’d made a mistake by not going after Marcus. He seemed really hurt and I knew if it were me, I’d want him to follow me and make me feel better about the situation. But with Riley in my face, waiting for acceptance, my search for Marcus would have to wait another minute or two, or forty-five, knowing Riley.

“Yes, I hear you. Sounds wonderful—if that’s what you want.”

Her nose turned up and her hands did that thing they did—flying all over the place—when she had a point to prove. “What do you mean if that’s what I want? I really like him. I’ve kind of always had this thing for him, but after that night. God, Tess, he’s really freaking good in bed.”

“That’s not going to keep a relationship afloat. And you’re okay with him just breaking up with Marissa and ending a two-year commitment because the sex was good? How do you know he won’t do that to you down the road?” I knew this wasn’t what she wanted to hear, but it was what she needed to hear. And fuck it, after all the shit she put me through with Marcus, she needed brutal honesty.

“You’re just getting back at me for what I did to you and Marcus. That’s really messed up, Tessa. Can’t you look past that for a minute and be a real friend?”

“Below the belt and not true. I’m not saying this stuff as retaliation—even though it’s ironic, isn’t it? But I’m just laying it all out there like a good friend would. Weren’t
you
trying to be a good friend when you told me to stay away from your brother, or was there some other motive behind it?” This was going nowhere, fast, and I could tell it was aggravating Riley.

“What would be my other motive, huh? I don’t want to see you get hurt, bottom line. You’ve been through enough and I know my brother. I know what he’s capable of and saving you and raising Luca—I don’t see it, I’m sorry. And this thing with Beck is totally separate from you and my brother—the two have nothing to do with each other. I want to see where this goes and I just want you to be happy for me. I don’t need your approval, I don’t want your advice, I just want you there along for the ride. Is that so much to ask?”

I looked at her, nodding my head up and down with widened eyes. “Egg-fucking-zactly!”

“Holy shit!” she whispered, bringing her hand up to her mouth. The fire in her eyes died down to a tiny flicker. She finally understood. “I’ve been such a bitch. I’m sorry, Tess.”

“No, not a total bitch, but yes, you’ve been driving us crazy. I know it’s weird and unconventional, but we fit together, Ry. It just works. Well, it did work up until a few minutes ago.”

“What’re you talking about?”

I peered down into the almost-empty cup, thinking of what I’d say to Marcus when I found him again. “We had a little argument and he stormed off, really pissed. I think I need to go apologize, but Luca’s all cranky and he needs a nap and I’m—”

“Give me Luca and go find your man. I owe you.” She winked at me and I knew all was forgiven. This would no doubt still have its awkwardness, trying to maintain the facets of our old friendship between the three of us and incorporating the new dynamics of a blossoming relationship, but we’d be good. I just knew it. Riley had my back—through thick and thin. I could count on her stubborn ass to keep all of us in check when the going got tough.

“Thank you, Ry.” I stood and kissed her on top of her head. “And I’m sorry for giving you the third degree about Beck. I think you guys make a cute couple.” I turned to walk to the house, kissing Luca on the cheek, and then looked over my shoulder to Riley again. “Oh, and sex with a younger man—they never get enough. It’s amazing!”

She threw a rolled up napkin at me before leaning down to pick up Luca. “I draw the line at sex talk about my brother. Period. The end.”

“Fine,” I giggled as I walked away. I’d take it if it meant she was off my back. It was a huge relief—it almost made me forget why I was angry at Marcus in the first place. I couldn’t wait to tell him that Riley was finally over it.

I searched the whole downstairs first, knocking on a locked bathroom door, but he was nowhere to be found. I figured the dock was usually the place he went to clear his head, but with so many people around, he was probably upstairs in his room, cooling down.

I bounded the steps two at time, eager to tell him about Riley’s acceptance, willing to admit I was stupid for being jealous. I took a pit-stop in the upstairs bathroom to relieve myself and freshen up just in case Marcus was up for some quick make-up sex. Knowing him, I wouldn’t even have to ask.

With one hand on the doorknob, I adjusted the tiny triangles that held my boobs, lifting them to plump up my cleavage. No matter how pissed he was, he wouldn’t be able to resist boobs in his face. But when I swung the door open, there were already a pair of very perky boobs pressed up against him. And they weren’t mine.

My eyes focused only on the girl—Skylar—and how her hands were ravishing Marcus’s body, her lips devouring him. Her claw-like hand hovered over his bare chest, creeping its way inside his swim trunks. They were leaned up against his dresser, one of her bronzed legs already tangled around his waist.

Son of a bitch! I didn’t even know how to react. I wanted to run away, pretend I didn’t see it, disappear without being noticed, but that was a cowardly way to handle it. The same way he handled being hurt.

“Wow!” I blurted out.

Marcus pushed Skylar off him and his eyes went wide when they met mine. “Tessa, it’s not what you think.”

Talk about cliché. “Nice, Marcus! Real nice. One little argument and you go fucking around. Everyone
was
right about you and once again, I’m the asshole.”

I spun to leave, never even making eye contact with that sleazy slut. She was more his type, more his pace. No baggage, no responsibilities—the perfect antithesis to me.

When I went to slam the door shut behind me, I felt his strong grip at my wrist. “Please, Tessa,” he pleaded. “I swear to you, I wasn’t doing anything. It was all her. She came in here and tried to—I wasn’t doing anything!”

I didn’t turn to face him. I couldn’t let him see me cry. This was mortifying, completely devastating—I trusted him, against my better judgment and here I was, another Marcus Grayson groupie, fucked-over and heart broken. “Leave. Me. Alone,” I mustered through quivering lips. I yanked my arm from his grip and flew down the steps.

“Wait! Please don’t do this!” Marcus shouted as he followed me down the steps and into the living room.

People were staring and I had no intention of giving them a show. So instead of fighting back, I simply ignored him. He didn’t deserve the satisfaction and I didn’t want to make myself more a fool than I already had.

But as if on cue, the whore came sauntering down the stairs, wiping the smeared lipstick from her face, and smoothing her hair back in place. The picture couldn’t have been painted more perfectly for our growing audience. And guess who
still
looked like the asshole?