Vik (Shot Callers 2)

“Cora,” I tried to warn her.

Alas, Cora did her. And she did it in the most Cora way possible. “Like, sir. I’ve got a back entrance and a front entrance, and I don’t care which one you come in through, as long as you paint my walls white when you leave. You know what I’m sayin’?”

Oh my God.

“Corinna!” was all Mina managed to cry.

The laughter that left me was a wheeze if I ever heard one. I could not even.

Not even a little.

When I heard the bathroom door squeak, I covered my suddenly hot cheeks with my hands and waited.

“I know I didn’t hear what I just heard,” Vik uttered collectedly, but his eyes lit in laughter.

And I watched Cora’s soul leave her body.

Eyes wide, she stuttered, “W-What are you doing here?” She then turned to me with a frown. “What is he doing here?”

“I tried to tell you,” I chuckled out with a shrug.

But Vik leaned against the bathroom doorway, undoubtedly fascinated. “Is that how chicks really talk about us guys? Because I gotta say, I thought it was all feelings and bullshit. But this?” His grin was cunning. “This, I like.”

“No,” I crowed, but my cheeks burned.

Mina shook her head and insisted, “I don’t talk like that.”

But Cora turned on me. “Yeah, right. Just a couple of weeks back, she said something. What was it again?”

My eyes snapped to her and begged. Her eyes narrowed on me in treachery. “Oh yeah. She was so horny that she wanted you to rearrange her guts, stroke her hair, and call her pretty.”

Are you freaking kidding me?

Oh no, she didn’t. Please tell me she didn’t.

My stomach ached.

Oh no.

“Nas,” Mina said in prude-like disbelief.

Embarrassment ate me whole. My palms began to sweat. I closed my eyes, contemplating whether if I laid still enough, they would think I was dead and just go away. “Vik, I didn’t—”

But Cora spoke over me, letting out a singsonged, “She so totally did.”

And when he began to chuckle, it was too much. I turned to Cora and scowled. “You’re an asshole.”

She shrugged. “No changing me, bitch.”

Vik’s laughter continued, and when it died, he uttered a lusty, “Now that’s something I’d make time for.”

The way he said it made memory after memory light up in my mind, a never-ending slideshow of sex. And my brow furrowed in humiliation. “You guys suck.”

“Not as much as you want to suck Vi—” Before Cora had a chance to finish what she was going to say, I flew across the bed and on top of her. She squeaked in surprise as I straddled her, and when I threw my hands over her mouth with a dangerous gaze, her laughter came out muffled.

Mina, lying by the edge of the bed, did not spare us a glance and did not give a single shit when she said mechanically, “No, guys. Stop. Don’t fight.”

Wide-eyed, I pressed down on Cora’s mouth and hissed, “Shut it!”

Her eyes danced, and being the gross person she was, her tongue darted out and licked my hands. My face screwed up, and I rolled off her with a cry of disgust. Cora smacked her lips and blew me a kiss.

Vik made a sound deep in his throat. “You lose some of your clothes, and this is basically the plot of the porn I watched last night.”

For the love of God.

I slowly lifted my head and glared at him. “Get back to work!”

Vik put up his hands and walked backward into the bathroom.

Meanwhile, Cora bit out, “You couldn’t have said he was here?”

“I tried, but you just kept yapping,” I told her, wiping my saliva-covered palm on my pants.

“‘Hey, Cora, Vik’s here.’” Her brows bunched. “Two seconds. That’s all it took.”

“You’re a putz.” I shook my head at her.

She sounded mildly offended when she spouted, “Nuh uh, you are.”

From the edge of the mattress, Mina murmured, “You both are.”

And Mina promptly rolled off the bed with a thud when I accidentally—on purpose—pushed her off.

It was hectic, so when Sasha approached the bar and yelled over the music, “What is she doing here?” I looked over at Cora, sitting calmly at the bar with her textbooks open, studying.

I thought it was pretty obvious. “Cramming.”

Sasha’s brows lowered. “Why is she studying at the bar?” He was not impressed. “She’s ruining the vibe.”

“I don’t know,” I said, forcing a wide smile, slinging drinks, and taking orders. “As you can see, I’m a little busy here.”

From beside me, Anika stilled when she saw my brother. A sweet smile graced her pretty, full lips. “Hi, Sash.”

And when Sasha looked her over a short moment, he did something I’d never seen him do. He turned and walked away, ignoring her. Anika’s shoulders slumped, and I wondered what the heck that was all about a split second before being pulled back into work.