Unthinkable (Unstoppable 2)

Riley’s parting words echoed in my brain. Make friends.

Go on, then… be fucking nice.

My lips flattened, and I blew out a breath, eyes rolling skyward. Perching on the edge of the mattress, I rubbed my palms over my thighs and looked over at Olivia Pierce. Pale porcelain skin, long brown hair, and sapphire blue eyes. She curled her fingers around the sleeves of her moss green sweater and curved up a brow as I carried out my assessment.

“Ready?” she finally asked with a half smirk.

“As I’ll ever be,” I replied with a deep sigh.

Her head tipped to the computer. “Is he an ex?”

I snorted, then shook my head. “An ex-pain in my ass.”

“Wow. You’ve got it bad, Alissa.”

“It’s just Liss,” I muttered, trying to ignore her comment and its stupid fucking accuracy. I was busting my ass here, trying to maintain a level of courtesy otherwise alien to me, and that kind of negativity wasn’t helpful. I already knew I was pathetic; she didn’t need to call me out on it.

But the girl beamed like I’d tossed her a hundred-dollar bill instead of allowing her to address me by a shortened version of my name. Clearly, I was more of an asshole than I’d realized.

“Call me Liv,” she offered in return.

“I’ll call you something a lot more colorful if you ever say anything like that to me again, Liv.” I threw her a pointed look, and she held up her palms, grinning.

“Okay. Okay. It’s a sore subject. I get it.”

My eyes narrowed. “Yeah?”

Some of the mirth gleaming in her eyes dissipated, and she glanced away briefly. Her shoulders lifted in a small shrug as she swung her head back. “Sure. I don’t mind sharing in the interests of getting to know each other. Want the whole nine yards, or the cliff notes version?”

I cocked my head and raised my brows. “I feel like you know enough about me to guess which.”

Her head drew back a little as she laughed and tucked her legs under her body. “Cliff notes, it is.”

I widened my eyes. “Would you look at how much we’ve bonded?”

“I knew we’d be friends, Liss. You’re just a little stubborn. Anyway, short story… I’ve been in love with my next-door neighbor, a guy named Matt, since I was seven years old. He’s a year older, but he finally noticed me when my twin sister started dating his friend. We dated for a couple of years, and they were probably the best two years of my life. Then he went to college, stumbled along sorority row, and the rest, as they say, is history. That was last spring. I’d like to say I’m over him, but… it’s a work in progress.”

She squeezed her hands together in her lap and caught her lower lip between her teeth.

I blinked. “Sounds like a dick. Want me to have him killed for you? I could.”

Her lips spread out into a wide smile. “You know, there is a rumor going around that you’re an assassin or have mob connections.”

r />

My smile mirrored hers. “Who says it’s a rumor?”

“Then I better not tell you to kill Matt. He’s a big jerk, and he hurt me, but…”

I nodded and looked down, picking a stray piece of lint off the comforter. “Yep,” I agreed quietly.

But…

Leon and I didn’t have anywhere near the history Liv and Matt did. We were barely even a thing. I should have long since repressed the memory of that kiss.

I shouldn’t think about him. I shouldn’t want to look at his social media. I shouldn’t want to know what he was doing; how he was doing. I shouldn’t want to stab holes in the obviously fake boobs of every girl who’d put their hands on him over the past few months.

I shouldn’t care at all.