Someone Like You (Someone To Love Series) (14 page)

My gut tightens when he mentions his overly hormonal little sis. I cast a glance around the room, making sure she’s not preparing to jump me from the corner. There’s not a lot I wouldn’t put past her.

“And now,” he continues, “the rooms won’t be available until God knows when. There goes any hope of ever getting into the black.” He jabs his spoon into his food, and a handful of stale marshmallows confetti the table.

I don’t say anything. Pretty much dealing with other people’s shit at any hour of the day sucks, so there’s nothing I can add to make this better.

“So tell me about Ally.” He makes an effort to lift his lids. “You said you were thinking about her.”

“It’s nothing.” I consider this a moment. Elton alluded to knowing something about her a couple of weeks ago, and maybe now, while his synapses are misfiring from a lousy night’s sleep, is a great time to squeeze some info out of him. “So, how well do you know Ally?” Hell, maybe Cruise here did a little tour of duty with Ms. Monroe before Kenny
popped on the scene. Not that I think of Ally that way—but for damn sure I think of
him
that way.

“Well enough.” He pulls his cheek to the side with a sudden look of discontent. “Not like that.”

“Got it.” Thank God for small mercies.

“Why do you ask? Everything okay in that department?” He looks remorseful for even going there.

“I don’t know.” What the hell kind of answer is that? Unfortunately it’s the truth. “She ever say anything about it?”

“You and her?” His eyes bulge a moment, disgusted by the prospect of Ally bringing up our sex life. “I’m not that close to her. Maybe she’s said something to Kenny. Why? Are you into weird shit that freaks her out?”

Nice. He’s suddenly good and pissed at my prospective perversion.

“You mean like those chains you’ve got dangling off the bed like a threat? Or that power motor I hear you running in the bedroom every now and again? What the hell is that, a weed whacker? Second thought, I really don’t want to know.” I sink down in my seat and thread my fingers behind my neck. “With Ally, it has nothing to do with anything extracurricular, just your run-of-the-mill stuff. Things you expect a girl to enjoy.” I give a curt nod because that’s as far as I’m willing to take it.

He shakes his head, stymied by what might pleasure the average girl. Crap. Maybe it’s Kenny who’s the pervert in this equation, but somehow I doubt that.

“Anyway, if you think of it, ask Kendall for me, would you? I’m pretty sure Ally wants me, she just doesn’t…want to enjoy herself like you’d imagine she would.” There—picture painted.

He lurches a little before diving into a dry laugh. “You don’t know how to please her? Sounds like the problem is you, my friend.”

“She won’t let me.”

“Again, you’re the common denominator.”

I shoot him a dirty look before changing the subject.

“What’s Cal’s number? I’ve got a business proposition for him.”

Cruise huffs at the thought of me speaking to Cal regarding a business proposition of any kind.

“What?” I shrug as if I’m deeply offended. “It’s legal.” Mostly.

“Here.” He messes with his phone before laying it on the table with Cal’s ugly mug staring up at me, his number just below that.

“Do Ally a favor and watch some porn.” Cruise gets up and starts heading down the hall. “Educate yourself, will you?” He shouts before shutting the door to his room.

Watch some porn.

I shake my head.

I couldn’t log enough hours in front of the tube to answer the mystery to Ally Monroe, nor would I want to. I never want that image of Ally lying in the sand to erase itself from my mind—to pervert it with the image of someone else. I just wish I could have seen the rest of the night unfold the way it was supposed to. And I’m curious as hell as to why it didn’t.

I punch a call into Cal.

It’s time to turn things around financially for Ally and me. Maybe then she’ll lose herself in ecstasy.

I give a little laugh.

It would figure.

6

LOVE BREWING

Ally
 

S
tarbucks is jumping, filled to the brim with Garrison defects happy to be free for eleven short weeks. It’s nothing but a brown and green coffee-scented flurry from the moment I arrive. Gretchen, my least favorite shift supervisor, is on, adding to the increased shit factor of this stressed-out morning.

There’s a line a mile long, right out the door, but I keep zoning out, losing myself while staring at the evergreens outside the window.

It’s not really the evergreens clogging up my mind, or nature in general. Instead, last night’s beach scene keeps replaying on a loop, and I feel lighter than air just thinking about it—just thinking about Morgan.

“Wake up!” Gretchen snaps, sharp and obtrusive like a hyena ready to attack. She looks like one too, with that large mouth and those long, hanging gums. Her blonde scraggly mane with a severe case of greying roots is enough to send anyone into hiding. Truthfully she scares the crap out of me. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if she morphs into Bigfoot at night and terrorizes the region for the sheer joy of making people panic. She’s that sadistic and weird.

I bolt to and fro, running myself ragged, trying to make coffee twelve different ways and systematically screwing up. Every. Single. Order.

“What the hell’s the matter with you?” She leans in, and her onion breath accosts my olfactory receptacles.

“I don’t know.” Morgan bounces through my mind with those killer dimples, those glowing eyes, and my insides catch fire. “I must be tired.” It’s true. I kept thinking of Morgan and his magic fingers all night, wondering if I hadn’t stopped him if he could have landed me in that mythical nirvana I’ve only read about in books. I swear he had the power to do it. I just didn’t want to look like a fool when I couldn’t get there and have to fake my way out of another situation. I really do want everything I share with Morgan to be real. I’d hate to lie about something so intimate.

“Tired?” Her face contorts into all kinds of crazy shapes, and I back into the stainless counter in fear she might explode and spew demonic confetti all over the place.

Blair steps up in line, and I make a face. Perfect. She’s the icing on this craptastic morning.

“What’s this?” Gretchen spins to gawk at the customers. “Relieve Penelope at the register.” She presses into me with that salivating scowl. “
Smile,
Ally. Smile like your job depends on it!” She zips off to the back.

Like my job depends on it.
I let out a breath.

I take over at the helm just as Blair steps up to the counter.

“Morning.” I let out an exasperated sigh. “What can I get for you?”

Morgan strides in and bypasses the line.

“Well, look who’s here!” Blair pulls him in by the waist, her thin lips curling at the corners. “Whatever you want, I’ll do it for you—I mean, get it for you.” A lazy smile slides up her cheek. She knew damn well what she was saying the first time.

“No, that’s okay.” He glances down at her arm and tries to step away but Blair’s got him in a death grip. He reverts his attention to me, settling those steel-blue eyes over mine, and my insides pinch. “I just came by to see if you were on tonight.”

I press my lips together in a panic. I’m not sure I’ve ever said anything to him about keeping my dance career under wraps for now. I’m not exactly ready to flaunt the pole in people’s faces, especially not Blair’s.

“No. Not on.” I shake my head in a furtive manner.

“Good.” His dimples go off. “Neither am I.” Morgan’s face softens into a smile, and suddenly it’s just the two of us as the angry mob of caffeine-deprived plebeians starts to drift out of existence.

Blair puts in a double order, and I’m so nervous with the two of them watching me I punch the keys wrong, three times, before officially locking down the register.

“Shit,” I whimper. “Gretchen?” I look back hesitantly.

“What?” she barks. She glances at the seized monitor and her face glazes over. “Now you’ve done it.” She inserts her key, and starts hitting keys at random, which I’m positive will only make matters worse. “We’ll have to call in for tech support, and do the rest of the orders manually.” A fire blazes in her eyes as she grits out the words.

Crap. Functioning manually equals twice as slow.

I look up with heavy eyes, and Morgan gives a remorseful smile.

“I’ll catch you later.” He says it quietly, as if trying to preserve my fragile employment status. “I’ll be at the batting cages the rest of the afternoon.”

“Batting cages?” Blair dips her gaze to his crotch for a moment, quick to glom onto his balls and bat. “I was just heading to the gym, but my car is acting up. I’m supposed to meet up with my friend Erica. Do you think I can hitch a ride?”

“Sure.” His brows narrow in for a moment as if he doubts her car is acting up as much as her hormones.

“We’ll catch you later, Al.” Blair winks over at me. Morgan raises his brows and they head out the door. Just perfect.

Lauren and Kendall waltz in and wave before heading to the back. Great. They can witness my bizarre coffee breakdown as I shove my head under the espresso maker.

“Ally,” Gretchen barks in my face. “Those customers just walked right out on an order. I’ll take the rest of your shift, since you’re feeling a bit
sleepy
today.” She draws her fists to her hips and squints her impossibly beady eyes over me. “In fact, you can turn in your apron and take that nap you so desperately need. I’m sick of all the excuses. I’m giving you the rest of your life off—you’re
fired
.”

“What?” I jump in horror at the thought of being canned. Stupid people get fired, thieves and people who are no-shows, not someone like me who’s desperately undeserving of the unemployment line. “I want to work. I want to be here. I
love
my job.”

“Sorry, sis. You’re the reason for the backlog, and it’s time to cut the weakest link. We need to
increase
productivity, not gift people replacement drinks all day long in order to rectify an error. Now go in peace or so help me God I will have you removed by security.”

My fingers fly to my lips in horror.

Shit! I take my apron off and plop it onto the counter before making my way numbly into the seating area. My feet carry me over to Lauren and Kendall, even though hanging out with my friends might land me a day pass in the county jail. The way my morning has been going I’ll probably score a life sentence while I’m at it.

“Hey,” Lauren scolds. “Get back there and get that line under control. I’m not ordering until half those people disappear.”

“I can’t.” The words barely eject themselves from my throat.

“
Honey
.” Lauren picks up on my sudden state of despondency. “What happened?”

“Did you just get held up? Was there just a robbery?” Kendall looks completely freaked out, as though a coffee heist were a viable option.

I shake my head. “I think I just officially lost my job.”

It all happens so fast. Kendall and Lauren shuttling me into the car while Lauren drives like a lunatic over to the gym. She hums on and on about having a spa day, steam rooms, and hot-stone massages, but I can’t wrap my head around any of it. All I can think about is how I’ve managed to fuck up my employment record and now I’ll be forced to wear a modern scarlet letter on my résumé—a big, fat
F
for
fired
. All I have left is Pretty Girls, and I can’t even make enough on most nights to pay the damn house fee. Freaking Dell.

Once we arrive, the girls storm me off to the back where I’m stripped clean of my clothing in exchange for a thick white towel. We head into Hades, where it’s so hot and smothering that the steam room replicates exactly how I feel.

A bunch of girls from Garrison are here, whispering as we walk by. I note Blair and her canine-faced friend sitting at one edge. Looks like Morgan landed her here in one unfortunate piece. But I try not to let my anger get the best of me, especially since she’s the primary reason I’ve been relegated to a new level of financial paralysis.

“Everything is going to suck from now on,” I groan, taking a seat on the surprisingly cool tile. God knows I’ll never have enough cold hard cash to move out on my own. But I don’t dare say that in front of Lauren. I’d hate for her to feel bad about living the dream with her new fiancé. Or, hey…maybe things aren’t so hot between them, and it’ll be like old times with Lauren and me. “How are things going with you and Cal?” I can’t believe I’ve just sunk to an all-time low—digging for a fissure in my best friend’s relationship.

“Things are still moving in the right direction.” She makes a face. “The other day I brought a bridal magazine home. You’d think it was another man the way he completely freaked out.” She turns to Kendall. “How about you? Cruise ever mention the wedding?”

Kendall considers it a moment. Kendall’s dark hair and blue eyes send an image of Morgan searing through my stomach. God, why does he have to be so damn gorgeous? And so not right for me. But everything about him and that highway of tattoos trailing up his arms just complicates the issue.

“Cruise is all about the wedding night.” Kendall leans in. “He’s already planning a dozen different ways to surprise me in bed. He’s not one to let things get boring. He’s anti-vanilla.” She darts a quick glance in Blair’s direction for a moment.

The blonde bitch herself must have heard because her mouth just rooted itself to the floor. Serves her right. Although if memory is correct, Blair mentioned she and Cruise never did the deed—lucky for Cruise. Although I’m positive she’d jump into the sack with my Morgan if the opportunity presents itself.

Wait. Did I just call him
my
Morgan? What the hell is that about?

“Wedding night, huh?” Lauren purrs. “Cruise sounds like a wild one.”

“Yeah, well, some guys like things a little untamed in the bedroom.” She leans her head back against the wall and her chest rises as she takes a breath. “Some
girls
do too.” She giggles it out.

I can totally vouch for that; Kendall is right there on the wild side with Cruise. I’ve heard at least a half dozen experimental noises stemming from their love nest night after night. I’m thinking Kendall and I need to develop a safe word in the event Cruise is about to delve into something alarmingly dangerous. Not that he would. He’s a totally nice guy.

“How about you, Al?” Lauren kicks my foot a little. “Rumor has it you’re hitting the sheets with someone tall, dark, and handsome.” She and Kendall break out in titters.

A breath gets caught in my throat as I gape over at Kendall. Of course she told. Not that I blame her.

I bite down on my lip, unsure of how much I should divulge, especially since I’ve made it clear to Morgan that we’re far from being a couple. I think I’m beginning to see why Kendall thought I might be trouble for him.

“Morgan and I…”

Blair clears her throat from across the room. “So Erica…” she says it a little louder than necessary. “About Pen’s little get-together—of course I’ll be there. I’m bringing
Morgan Jordan
. Have you seen him? He redefines the word
beefcake
. You should see the size of his—”

“So”—I clap my hands together and glare at the queen bee in question—“you know, Kendall,” I whisper. “I don’t believe Blair was ever given the right amount of retribution for that stunt she pulled by getting Cruise tossed out of Garrison. We should totally take her down.”