“Ryn?”
Tristan and Sierra? Shaking my head, I fought to hold back my tears. I wasn’t sure if I was in shock that Tristan and Sierra knew each other, or if it was because I’d seen them kiss each other in the last five minutes.
Feeling Dodge place his hand on the small of my back, I jumped. “Ryn, baby, are you all right?”
“Yeah. Um . . . yep, I’m totally fine.” I faced Dodge and gave him a big grin. “I’m starved. I worked up a pretty big appetite between last night and this morning.”
“My girl calls and I come running, willing and eager to please her.”
My smile faded briefly. Oh God. Is that what this is? Ten months later and I’m still using Dodge to hide my feelings for Tristan. Giving a weak smile to Dodge, I followed the waitress to our table. The entire time we ate breakfast I tried to keep their kiss from replaying over in my mind. Dodge talked about going out dancing tonight. Nodding, I agreed it sounded like fun.
“Shall we go hit up some stores?”
I loved how Dodge was willing to do whatever I wanted. If I told him I wanted to go to a quilt show, he’d go, no questions asked. And he would smile and act like he was having the time of his life.
Strolling along a small street lined with mostly beach bum stores, Dodge held my hand. We walked in silence for a bit before Dodge guided us to an ice cream store. After getting one scoop of my favorite ice cream, Rocky Road, Dodge and I sat down on a bench. I ate my ice cream as I people watched.
Clearing his throat, Dodge began to talk. “Ryn, I need to ask you something.”
Turning to face him, I scrunched up my nose. “Sure! Dodge, you can ask me anything, anytime. You know that.”
Giving me a weak smile, he asked, “Where do you see our relationship going?”
Fuck. Me. That was the one thing he couldn’t ask. No. He shouldn’t ask it. We don’t have a relationship. Do we?
“Um . . . do you see this as a relationship?” I asked as I kept licking my ice cream, turning my eyes away from him.
He let out a gruff laugh. “Well, maybe. I mean it could be, if you let it, Ryn. I don’t see anyone else. You don’t see anyone else. I enjoy being with you and when I say being with you, I don’t just mean fucking you so you can attempt to push another guy from your heart.”
Snapping my head, I glared at him. “Do you think that’s what I use you for?”
Tilting his head, he looked at me like I’d just grown another head. “Seriously? You’re asking me that, Ryn? You call, I come running. You see him in Starbucks, you call me and I come fuck you. You see him at a UT football game and then call me. I spend the next twenty-four hours having sex with you until you can’t even walk. You see him at a wedding. You call and I drive six hours to be with you.”
I felt sick to my stomach. Dodge and I had a really fucked up . . . relationship.
“Have you ever called me to come to you when you haven’t seen Tristan?”
I closed my eyes and thought about it. Had I? Yes! Of course I had. I got up and walked over to a trash bin and tossed my ice cream out. I was pissed. Pissed that I had been pretending that there was nothing wrong with this arrangement I had with Dodge. Pissed that Dodge thought he saw this as a potential relationship, and pissed that I was beginning to feel like a tramp because I didn’t see this going any further than what it was. Turning, I marched back over to Dodge. “The RV show. I didn’t see Tristan. I went and all I could think about was you. I called and you showed up. If my memory serves me right, it was your idea to sneak into a RV and have sex, which by the way ranks up there with the hottest public sex yet.”
Dodge smiled.
I continued to talk as I attempted to drown out the fact that I had mostly just used Dodge for sex. Sex to forget about Tristan. Sex to just forget everything. “Then there was the home and garden show two weeks later. I called and asked if you wanted to go with me. I hadn’t seen Tristan then. Fourth of July, I invited you to my house because I wanted you there, Dodge. I wanted to be with you.”
Of course, I left out the part about Tristan and I going camping over July fourth. We did nothing but stay in the tent and make love the entire weekend. It was our first trip together.
Dodge stood. “You have to know I care about you, Ryn. I want something more.”
Oh dear God. I stood before one of the hottest guys I’d ever met, besides Tristan, and he was uttering the words every normal blue-blooded woman wanted to hear.
I want something more.
My heart hurt for Dodge. He wanted something more. I wanted Tristan.
PULLING INTO SIERRA’S FATHER’S DRIVEWAY, I stared blankly at the house. What in the fuck am I doing? Leaning my head back against my headrest, I tried to rationalize what in the hell I was doing by pretending to be going out with Sierra to make Ryn jealous.
Closing my eyes, the image of Dodge fucking Ryn this morning invaded my mind. Snapping my head forward and opening my eyes I inhaled a deep breath. “Why the fuck not,” I said as I pushed my truck door open and got out.
I was about to walk up the steps that lead to the little blue house when the door opened. Sierra came bouncing out.
Holy. Shit.
She was dressed in a silver cocktail dress that hugged her body in all the right ways. Her blonde hair had been pulled up and piled on top of her head. Swallowing hard, my eyes traveled down her long tan legs and I moaned out loud when I saw her silver high heels.
“I’m going to guess I look good since you’re eye fucking the hell out of me right now, Tristan.”
Looking back up at her face, I shook my head. “What the fuck was wrong with your husband?”
She smiled and I had to catch my breath. Sierra was full of life and her husband was a fool.
“You just scored more points. It’s a good thing we aren’t really fuck buddies . . . I’d have to give you head tonight.”
My mouth dropped open as she walked by me and winked. I was so stunned I couldn’t even move.
“Hello? Tristan? Let’s go . . . chop chop. I’m in the mood to do some dirty dancing. I haven’t rubbed up against a guy in years.”
Slowly turning around, I made my way over to her door. I opened it and held her hand while she climbed into the truck the best she could in the short tight dress. I leaned in closer to her and smiled. “Do you talk to every guy like this?”
Giving me a bigger grin, she shook her head. “Nope. It’s just with you I know it’s safe. You won’t act on any of it. We’re just having fun.”
Raising my eyebrow, I tilted to my head as I asked, “How do you know I won’t act? A beautiful woman like yourself comes walking out dressed in a barely there dress, killer legs that I’m sure would wrap around my body nicely, and she talks about sucking my dick.” Sierra licked her lips as her eyes glanced down to my lips before looking back into my eyes. “Sierra, my dick jumped at the idea of your lips around my cock.”
Sierra’s mouth parted open slightly. “Why, Tom, you like to talk dirty?”
Giving her a seductive smile, I said, “I like to play dirty as well.”
Laughing, Sierra tossed her head back. For one brief moment, I wanted to run my tongue along her neck. Looking back at me, Sierra shook her head. “I’m not going to lie to you, Tristan. I’d love to see what you would be like in bed, but I have a feeling we’d be better off as friends.”
Nodding, I leaned in and brought my lips close to hers. “I have a feeling you’re right, Sierra. But I’m still a man and you still made my dick jump seeing you in that dress.”
Grinning, she whispered, “Thank you, Tristan. I needed to hear that.”
Kissing her gently, yet quickly, on the lips, I whispered back, “I know. Let’s go have some fun.”
An hour later, Sierra and I were on the dance floor at Max’s Roadhouse. She was an amazing dancer and the more I got to know her, the more I wanted to pound her ex-husband’s head into the wall.
“I need a drink!” Sierra shouted over the music. Nodding my head,
I turned and walked toward the bar. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me to a stop. I quickly turned to see it was Sierra.
“What’s wrong?”
Her eyes looked panicked. “Kiss me! Now!”
I pulled my head back and looked at her. “What?”
“Kiss me! Now, Tristan!”
I leaned in closer. “Have you been drinking and I haven’t noticed?”
Rolling her eyes, she laced her arms around my neck and pulled me to her.
“It’s show time,” she shouted as she pressed her lips to mine. It took a few seconds for it to kick in.
Ryn.
I wrapped my arms around Sierra and pulled her closer to me. I had to admit, she was a damn good kisser. Her hands went up to my hair and she tugged slightly, eliciting a moan from me.
Pulling back slightly, Sierra whispered against my lips. “Ryn is here.”
“I figured that much out,” I said.
Iggy Azelea’s “Beg for It” began playing. Something in Sierra’s eyes changed and she instantly started grinding up against me.
“Is she looking?” I asked. A huge part of me knew what Sierra and I were doing was wrong. I didn’t like deceiving Ryn, but I also wanted her back. I wanted her away from Dodge.
Smiling, she nodded her head as she placed her finger in her mouth and sucked on it. I grabbed Sierra and began moving my hands all over her. I wanted to see Ryn’s face, but I didn’t want her to know I knew she was here.
Sierra turned around and pushed her ass up against my dick as she put her hand behind my neck. Placing my hands on her hips, we were practically having sex on the dance floor. Moving my hand up her arm, I grabbed her hand and pushed her out while she spun around. Pulling her to me, she wrapped her leg around me as I moved my hand up her leg.
“Tell me how far to go, Sierra,” I said.
Taking a quick peek over to Ryn, Sierra said, “She can’t stop watching. Slip you hand up my dress a little.”
Swallowing hard, I did what she told me to and was met with bare lips. Closing my eyes, I cursed under my breath. “Shit! You’re not wearing panties, Sierra? What the fuck? You told me to touch you!”
She gave me a naughty smile and winked before I quickly removed my hand.
“I said, slip your hand up my dress a little.” For some reason, I felt like I had done something wrong. What the fuck is wrong with me? I just felt the bare lips of a pussy. Any man in his right mind would want to bury his cock there.
The song ended and Sierra walked into my arms and smiled. “She can’t pull her eyes off of us.”
Grabbing Sierra’s hand, I pulled her from the dance floor. She allowed me to take her down the hall toward the restrooms. I stopped and pushed her against the wall. “I just fucking touched your bare pussy, Sierra.”
“I didn’t think you were going to go for the homerun, Tom.”
Rolling my eyes and letting out a sigh, I leaned my forehead against Sierra’s. “Sierra, I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay, Tristan. It’s been so long since any guy has touched me, I’m pretty sure I have cobwebs growing down there.”
Pulling my head back, I looked at her. Her smile wasn’t reaching her eyes. “How long?”
Looking down at the floor, Sierra began chewing on her lower lip. Glancing back up at me she had tears in her eyes. “About eight months before I caught him in bed with Kim, my best friend. Not even so much as a kiss. I thought he was just stressed at work. Every time I attempted to touch him, he would pull away and say it wasn’t fair to me that he couldn’t give me his full attention. After four months, I stopped trying. Not being touched like that by someone you think loves you, it does shit to your head.”
Placing my hand on the side of her face; my heart hurt for her. I could see the pain in her eyes. “He’s an asshole, Sierra.”
Sierra placed her hand over mine. Nodding, she whispered, “I know, but it still hurts.”
“Let me do something for you.”
Narrowing her eyes, Sierra looked at me. “You’re not fucking me, Tom. Sorry.”
Laughing, I shook my head. People were walking by us as they made their way to the restrooms. Placing my knee between her legs, I pressed against her pussy. Sierra let out a gasp. Moving my lips to ear I asked, “When was the last time a guy gave you an orgasm?”
Grabbing onto my arms, Sierra squeezed them as she began grinding against my knee. “Almost . . . a . . . year.”
Biting on her ear lobe, I began moving my knee as Sierra began riding it. She leaned her head back against the wall and bit down hard on her lip. I didn’t know how she would react to what I was about to do, so I just did it. Removing my knee quickly, I slipped my hand up her dress and pushed my fingers into her wet pussy. Sucking in a breath of air, Sierra let out a moan and fell apart. Her moans mixed with the loud beat of the music as people continued to walk by, paying no attention to the fact that I was finger fucking a girl against the wall.
When her pussy finally stopped pulsing, I pulled my fingers out. Sierra was still grabbing onto my arms. Moving my lips back to her ear, I whispered, “Better?”
Nodding her head, Sierra’s chest was moving up and down as she attempted to get her breathing under control. A year ago I would have probably gone ahead and fucked Sierra hard and fast against the wall. I wouldn’t lie to myself and say I wasn’t attracted to her, but I really liked her has a friend. Sleeping with her might ruin that.
Bringing her head forward, Sierra looked into my eyes. “I’m still not fucking you. Or giving you head.”
Laughing, I pulled her dress down more and took a step back. This is what I liked about Sierra. She had a way about her that kept everything lighthearted. “Damn it, I was so looking forward to you giving me head, too.”
Giving me a smirk, Sierra turned and began heading back out to the club. We both came to a stop when we saw Ryn standing there. Her breathing was deep and heavy as she held her hands to her sides, fists balled up. She looked at Sierra and then me. Clearly she was pissed.
“Ryn! Are you here with your boyfriend?” Sierra asked.
I sucked in a breath at the words as Ryn’s eyes snapped over to me. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
I attempted to hold back the delight I felt at hearing Ryn stress the fact that Dodge wasn’t her boyfriend.
“Oh. I just assumed since . . . well I mean. I couldn’t help but hearing y’all getting it on hot and heavy this morning. Yikes. I had to take a break from painting if you know what I mean.”
I quickly looked at Sierra, as did Ryn. Holy shit. She just put it right out there.
“Um. Ah. I don’t—” Ryn looked at me as I looked away. The thought of Ryn with Dodge turned my stomach.
Ryn quickly stood taller and looked from me to Sierra. “Looks like you and Tristan were getting it on pretty hot and heavy yourselves.”
Sierra laughed. “Just having a bit of fun, that’s all. Didn’t mean anything. Hey, we have a table on the other side of the club, why don’t you and your boy . . . I mean . . . your friend join us.”
I squeezed Sierra’s hand and looked at her as she continued to smile at Ryn. What in the hell was she doing? I didn’t want to sit there and watch Ryn hang all over Dodge.
Ryn quickly looked over her shoulder. I followed her gaze and saw Dodge standing at the bar. Turning back to us, Ryn smiled. “Thank you, but I don’t think that would be a good idea.” Ryn looked at me and hurt filled her eyes.
Letting out the breath I was holding, I looked at Sierra. “I’m not really in the mood for dancing any more, Sierra. I think I’m going to call it a night.” Sierra nodded her head. Glancing toward Ryn, I said, “Enjoy your evening, Ryn.”
Ryn opened her mouth like she wanted to say something. I was silently willing her to ask me to dance. Or maybe step outside and talk. Anything to keep me there. Instead, she nodded her head, turned and walked over to Dodge. She placed her hand on his lower back as he leaned down and quickly kissed her on the lips.
Fuck this.
I quickly started toward the exit. I felt Sierra right behind me. The moment the door opened, I sucked in a breath. It felt as if I couldn’t breathe. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck,” I said as I placed my hands on my knees.
“Why are we leaving, Tristan?”
I looked up at Sierra. “She fucking saw me getting you off!”
“Good. She needed to see it.”
Standing up straight, I pushed my hand through my hair. “I don’t know, Sierra. Maybe she really has moved on. Maybe I just need to . . .”
Sierra lifted her hand up and made a funny face. “Don’t you dare say it, Tristan. Stop right there. Ryn practically admitted that Dodge was her play toy. She was angry when she saw us together. I can see it in her eyes, Tristan. She still loves you.”
Shaking my head, I began walking toward the truck. “No. She doesn’t. She doesn’t love me, Sierra.”
Grabbing my arm, Sierra pulled me to a stop. “Are you for real right now, Tristan? Did you not see the same girl I saw? The one who was so upset she was trembling? The one who looked like she was about to get sick when I mentioned her boyfriend? Yes, she very much still loves you and you . . .” Sierra stopped talking. Her mouth hung open as she looked into my eyes. “Oh my God. You got spooked. Didn’t you?”
I looked away and down to the ground as I kicked a rock.
“Tristan, you broke up with Ryn because you got spooked by your feelings, didn’t you?”
Swallowing hard, I lifted my head and dropped it back as I looked up at the perfectly clear night sky. The stars looked amazing, shinning against the black night. Sierra instantly picking up my reason for pulling away from Ryn didn’t surprise me. She was insightful to say the least.