“He hasn’t been home the last few times I’ve stopped by. I’d love to come by and hang out with him sometime.”
Sue smiled from ear to ear. “You know he would love that, Jeff.”
Ellie finally made her way over to me. “Is it okay if Ari and Heather ride to the dinner with us?”
My eyes drifted past Ellie and landed on Ari. She was laughing at something her father was saying. When he pulled her in for a hug, I forced myself to look away.
“Of course it’s okay.”
The entire drive to the five-star restaurant Sue and Mark had picked was filled with three girls going on about everything from what so and so had on under her robe to how much fun they were going to have tonight.
I pulled up and valet parked. When the kid went for my keys, I held them back. “Don’t put a scratch on this truck.”
He grinned. “No, sir. Wouldn’t dream of it.”
By the time we got to the table, I was ready for a beer. Being this close to Ari with her in a tight, short dress was playing havoc on my poor confused dick, not to mention my even more confused brain.
When we all took our seats and I was left to sit next to Ari, I almost moaned out loud. How in the hell was I going to be able to sit next to her and not touch her?
“What’s wrong? The thought of sitting next to me repulse you that much, Johnson? There’s a seat next to your sister.”
“Huh?” I said, looking at her as she looked up at me. “What are you talking about, Ari?”
“Jeff, what’s wrong? You don’t look very happy. Do you want to sit over here by me?” Ellie asked.
If I said yes, then Ari would think I didn’t want to sit next to her. If I sat next to her, I’d drive myself fucking crazy all night.
“No. No, I’m fine here.”
When I sat down, my leg brushed against Ari. She moved slightly away from me, and that bothered me more than I wanted to admit.
Did she do it because the idea of touching me made her ill or made her crazy . . . like it did me?
I tried like hell to ignore the story she was telling about Heather nearly tripping when she walked up onstage. The sound of her voice had my dick in a constant hard-on, and it was beginning to hurt.
Then it happened. The little prick a few tables down from us who kept staring at Ari stood and made his way over to the table. Who in the hell was this guy?
“Ari, do you know that guy?” I asked, leaning in and making contact with her body. I swear I saw her inhale a quick breath at my touch, but then blew it off to my imagination.
“Rod?” Ari said, leaning over to get a better look.
The guy waved to her, and she waved back.
“Who’s Rod?” I asked, watching the guy beam when Ari noticed him.
“Oh my gosh! Rod!” Ari said, making her way around the table and hugging him. I balled my fists under the table when he let his hand slide down her back and over her ass.
What. The. Fuck. Her parents were right there. That was a bold fucking move.
“Who’s Rod?” I asked Ellie, who was sitting on the other side of the table.
“Ari dated him for a bit in high school before he moved away.”
My eye shot back over to them.
“Mind if I join y’all for a bit?” Rod asked.
“Aren’t you here with your family?” I asked, looking past him to the small family he had gotten up and abandoned.
This Rod guy stared at me like I was beneath him. How dare I speak to him when not spoken to.
“Nah, they’re fine. Ellie, do you mind moving so Ari and I can sit together?”
My jaw dropped. He didn’t just do that.
Ellie stood. “Sure. No problem.”
The seat next to Ellie had been empty, but I was hoping Ari would blow the guy off. Boy, was I wrong. For the next ten minutes, she laughed and flirted with the asshole. When we ordered, the douche actually asked to have his dish brought over here, not his table.
After ordering another beer, I watched Ari as she kept leaning in to the guy each time he made her laugh. Her hand landed on his arm more times than I could count.
“Jeff, is everything okay?” Sue asked. She obviously saw I was tense.
“Everything is great. Thank you so much for having Ellie and I join y’all for dinner.”
She smiled. “You’re family. Of course we want you here.”
Our meals were served, and Ari continued to talk and pay attention to the asshole sitting across from me. Each time he laughed, it grated on my nerves. When Ari got up to use the restroom, I waited a few minutes and did the same. Racing down the hallway to the restrooms, I waited for her to come out.
She stepped outside and jumped when I walked up to her and pulled her down the hall a little farther.
“Jeff? What are you doing?”
I scoffed. “What am I doing? What in the hell are you doing?”
Her brows pulled together tightly. “Excuse me?”
“Don’t you think it’s inappropriate for you to be flirting with this Rod guy so openly in front of your parents?”
I’ve seen Ari pissed off before so I knew it was probably best that I take a step . . . maybe three . . . away from her.
“You dirty rotten son-of-a-cocksucking-asshole jerkface! I think you need to mind your own damn business.”
“It is my business when this guy looks like he’s pawing you up under the table.”
Her mouth fell open, and I was almost positive she was going to slap me.
“He hasn’t so much as laid a finger on me! And why do you care?”
I swallowed hard. My heart was racing.
Just tell her how you feel, Jeff. Take a risk. Pull her into your arms and kiss her.
“I care because you’re making yourself look like a fool flirting with him.”
Tears filled her eyes, and I wanted to take back the hurtful words I didn’t mean. Jealousy was driving me fucking mad, and I was taking it out on her.
She shook her head, and I nearly died when I saw her lower lip tremble.
“Ari, I didn’t mean to say that.”
It was like I slapped her in the face and brought her back from the brink of tears. She squared her shoulders and lifted her chin.
“I’m not your goddamn girlfriend. I’m just Squirt, your little sister’s best friend.”
“Ari.”
She took a step closer and leaned in to me as she smiled. Fuck, that smile of hers was my weakness. She placed her hands on my shoulders and reached up, causing me to lean down to her. Her mouth went to the side of my head, next to my ear.
“It’s a shame you’re such a spineless prick. We could have finally had some fun tonight, but it turns out, you’re not my type.”
And like that, she was gone. Leaving me to stand there with her words rattling around in my mind.
We could have finally had some fun tonight . . .
My hands started to sweat at the thought of Ari and me together in any sort of way. Had she been planning on making a move on me tonight? What did she mean?
I wanted to run after her and demand she tell me. Instead, I did the spineless prick thing I normally did when I didn’t want to face something.
Brought in a distraction.
Reaching for my phone, I pulled up Rebecca’s number.
“Hey! Fancy you calling me.”
“I’m having a graduation party for my little sister tonight at my place. If you and a few friends want to stop by, that would be great. Ellie wants to see what a college party is like.”
“How cute. Of course I’ll stop by and bring a friend or two.”
Instantly I regretted calling her. Nothing good was going to come out of Rebecca and her bitch friends being there, but it was too late. I’d already done the deed; there was no backing out now.
“Come anytime after seven.”
I hung up the phone, not even bothering to say goodbye.
Spineless prick indeed.
Chapter Twenty-Seven – Gu
nner
Jeff had left earlier today to attend Ellie’s graduation while I stayed behind to make sure everything was ready to go for the party tonight. He’d sent me a text that he was on his way home.
Jack was finishing getting everything set up and walked into the house. “All right, dude. I got all my stuff together and ready to go. I’m going to go and grab some food. What time do you want me back here?”
With his backpack tossed over his shoulder, he waited for my reply.
“Seven sound good?”
“Sure. I’ll see y’all then.”
Jeff walked in the front door and slammed it. Jack lifted his brows and took that as his sign to get on out while the getting was good.
When Jeff stormed by me and went straight into the kitchen, I knew something was wrong.
“How was the graduation?”
He reached into the refrigerator and pulled out a beer. “Fucking great. Just fucking great.”
Okay. What in the hell crawled into his cornflakes?
“What’s going on? Please tell me your mom didn’t show up.”
He looked at me, confused. “What? No, no, she didn’t show up. The graduation was perfect. It was the fucking dinner afterward that sucked. I swear to God, I want to wring Ari’s neck!”
Jeff quickly finished off a beer.
“You’re going to get wasted before Ellie even gets here. What did Ari do?”
He scoffed. “What doesn’t she do? She never shuts the hell up for one thing. I wanted to reach across the table and shove a piece of bread in her damn mouth. Then that prick showed up, and all he did was flirt with her over dinner, and she flirted right back. It made me sick.”
Ah, so now we get to the big picture.
“Who was this prick who showed up?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know who the fuck he was. Some asshole she dated for a bit in high school. He was having dinner with his family at the same restaurant. He sure didn’t have any manners, since he practically sat with us the whole time and left his family sitting there waiting on him to come back.”
“Okay, so what exactly did Ari do that has you so angry with her?”
Jeff took another beer out and cracked it open.
Holy shit. He had it bad for Ari. Why in the hell couldn’t he admit it?
His hand went through his hair as he let out a laugh. “I pulled Ari aside and told her how I thought it was inappropriate for her to be flirting with the guy so openly in front of her parents.”
My eyes nearly popped out of my head. “Only knowing Ari a few days, I’m going to guess that probably pissed her off. What the heck, Jeff? She’s not your girlfriend.”
He threw his head back and laughed even harder. I didn’t know what he thought was so funny. Stupid idiot.
“Funny, she said the same damn thing. Of course that was after she called me every damn name in the book and told me I was a spineless, dickless prick and she didn’t go for guys like me. Bitch!”
Wow. Talk about your sexual tension.
“Jeff, why can’t you just admit you have feelings for Ari? It sure would make things easier on you, her, and Ellie.”
He looked straight at me and smiled. It didn’t reach his eyes. It was more of a surrendering smile. Like the fight in him to keep Ari at arm’s length was wearing him down.
“I need to focus on Ellie right now. She can’t lose her friendship with Ari, and I don’t have time to jack around with some baby drama queen who obviously needs way too much attention to keep her happy. Let her little high school prick friend do that.”
He didn’t mean a damn word he had just spewed out. And what in the hell did he mean Ellie couldn’t lose her friendship with Ari?
“I need to go jump in the shower before Ellie and her friends get here. I told them to come anytime after seven.” He headed toward the hall but stopped and looked at me. His face filled with regret.
Ah hell. What did he do?
“I also called Rebecca and invited her and some of her friends. Told her it was Ellie’s graduation party. Do me a favor and keep your eye on Ellie and her friends tonight. I don’t want any of these jackasses trying something with any of them. I already gave Ellie the lecture about taking any drinks from anyone.” He ran his hands through his hair. He was second-guessing everything, especially inviting Rebecca here. They would be jealous of Ellie and her friends, and Jeff had to have known that.
“Hey, you didn’t tell Rebecca to bring Crysti, did you?” I asked, reaching down and picking up the two empty beer bottles.
“I told her I didn’t care who she brought along and that Ellie wanted to see what a college party was like.”
My eyes rolled, and I silently cursed. The last thing I needed was Crysti hanging all around me tonight with Ellie here. If Jeff thought some UT bitches were going to stop guys from hitting on Ellie and her friends, he was seriously not thinking clearly.
This was going to be an interesting night.
A small crowd of people had already showed up. I was a nervous fucking wreck waiting on Ellie to get here. A part of me couldn’t wait to see her, and the other part dreaded all these assholes eyeing her.
Jeff had downed a few more beers and was arguing with Brad about who could bench-press the most weight.
The hairs on my arms stood up, and I knew she was here. Jeff looked toward the door and smiled. My gaze followed his, and I watched as Ellie walked up to her brother.
She looked beautiful, dressed in a short white dress with cowboy boots. Her hair was pulled back into a sexy ponytail. She probably thought it made her look innocent, but to me, it made me desire her that much more. The need to claim her was growing more intense.
Jeff picked her up and spun her around. Yep. He was halfway to drunk. He said something to her, and she laughed. Brad and Josh stood there with their damn mouths hanging open as they ogled my girl.
Fuckers.
This shit was getting nipped in the bud and now. I made my way over to them.
“Check out the fresh meat. Holy shit, Jeff’s sister is hot, and her friends are just as hot,” Josh said.
I pointed to them. It was Josh, Brad, and four other football players. “Listen here, I’m giving you this warning once. None of you get any ideas about Ellie’s friends. This warning comes from me and Jeff.”
Josh laughed. “All right! But you didn’t say anything about his sister, so if y’all will excuse me . . .” Josh said as he started toward Ellie.
I stepped in front of him and put my hand on his chest.
“Yeah, I don’t think so. Ellie is off-limits. Period. You so much as fucking look at her wrong, and I’ll beat your ass, Hayes.”
Josh stared at me like I’d lost my damn mind. I’d never claimed a woman before, and I was sure this was throwing him for a loop.
“What the hell, Gunner? You calling dibs on the sister?” Brad asked while they all chuckled.
“As a matter of fact, yes, I am. I’m dead serious; do not so much as talk to her wrong.”
Josh and Brad exchanged looks before Brad held up his hands. Josh mumbled something under his breath, but I ignored him.
When I turned, Ellie was making her way over to me. As she drew closer, I smiled. Her grin turned into a full-blown knock me on my ass smile. From the corner of my eye, I saw Ari and two other girls start to laugh, and I couldn’t help but wonder if Ellie had told them we had kissed. A part of me hoped so; that meant she had been thinking about me like I had been her.
She stopped in front of me and reached up on her toes and kissed me on the cheek. My heart jumped into my throat, and my dick instantly went hard. From a kiss on a cheek.
Holy. Shit.
“Hi, Gunner, how are you tonight?”
“I’m doing much better now that you’re here. How was graduation?”
“It was great. Ari gave a wonderful speech.”
Speaking of Ari, she was giving me a shit-eating grin as she made her way over to me. There was no doubt in my mind Ellie had tol
d her about the kiss.
“Ari, how are you? How’d the speech go?”
“Hey, Gunner. The speech, it went pretty good. I about pissed in my pants from being nervous. Then I looked out and saw Jeff, so I pictured his ass naked and him sucking his thumb, and strangely enough, I calmed right down,” Ari said with a shrug and the most serious face I’d ever seen. I actually believed she was telling the truth.
“I’m going to have to remember that one when I stand in front of a group pitching a new idea for a building.”
Ari gave me a wink.
“Gunner, this is Amanda. Amanda, Gunner.” The pretty brownish-red-haired girl standing in front of me was dressed the most provocatively of the group. Tight jeans and a brown tank top that showed off her assets really well.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Amanda.” I said with a smile.
“We’ve heard so much about you, Gunner. Seems you’ve made an impression on our Ellie here.”
My heart soared, and I glanced down to Ellie, who was shooting Amanda a dirty look.
“If you’re done, Manda—Gunner, this is Heather,” Ellie said.
Heather was a little shorter than Ellie and Ari but not by much. She was the only blonde in the group. Her blue eyes reminded me of Ellie. They both had innocence pouring off them. I was going to have to watch Josh with Heather.
“Heather, it’s very nice to meet you.”
“The feeling is mutual. Thank you for inviting us, Gunner.”
Oh hell. Innocent and that southern charm. These poor girls were in for a wake-up call tonight.
After that I gave them all my lecture about not leaving with anyone, not even a girl, and no drinks from anyone other than Jeff or me. I also made sure Amanda and Heather had a ride home. Heather was the designated driver and would only be drinking soda.
Jeff had already told Ellie that she and Ari could stay the night. Something he was regretting when I mentioned it thirty minutes ago.
We had moved outside, and the girls quickly started dancing. Ari knew how to move and certainly had a lot of attention being pulled her way. Ellie and Heather were dancing together, and Amanda was holding her own and seemed to have Brad’s full attention. Interesting. Josh was staring at Heather as if he was trying to place her. Like maybe he’d seen her before and just couldn’t remember where.