Stripped Down (Tap That)

Sullivan wouldn’t look at her. “Of course. That’s not the issue.”

Rick could see him visibly swallowing, like his emotions were crawling up his throat. He felt some serious compassion for his old friend. “Think of it as a favor to me,” he told Sullivan. “If I can strut on stage I can finally put that stupid childhood nickname to rest once and for all.” He put his hands up, far apart, to indicate a very large cock. “No one is going to see me in some tight boxer briefs and have the balls to call me Little Dickie ever again.”

Seriously. Worst nickname ever.

It drew a snort from Sullivan. “Keep dreaming, Little Dickie.”

Rick stood up and put his hand on the snap of his jeans. “You want me to prove it right now, motherfucker?”

“Yes.” Sullivan crossed his arms over his chest in a blatant challenge.

Rick had no problem whipping it out. He’d spent a lifetime proving himself as the short kid from the wrong side of the tracks. He was used to backing his trash talk up with action, even if it was just getting razzed by his best friend.

“Oh, my God, no, stop!” Lilly put her hand up, her expression one of horror.

It made Rick laugh. “Are you scared you might like what you see?” he said with a grin.

“I’m sure I would be overwhelmed with lust and mouth-watering anticipation, yes,” she said dryly. “That’s why you need to keep it in your pants. I don’t want you to see me like that, desperate for some action.”

Rick sat back down, clapping her on the back. Lilly was nothing if not a good sport. Far as he knew, she wasn’t dating at all and she was fantastic at being able to hang with a bunch of guys. It wasn’t hard to see how Sullivan was able to obliviously take her for granted. “Maybe Sullivan was right and you need to download Tinder,” he said, giving her a wink so she would know he wasn’t serious.

“I will if you will.”

Fuck. He’d walked right into that one. “No, thank you. I meet women the old-fashioned way. In a bar. The gym. The grocery store. Live and in person.” He had to admit his vice was women. He wasn’t a huge drinker. But he couldn’t resist a pretty woman. Maybe because in his teen years he’d been convinced he’d never get the girl. Now that he had? He was a classic commitment-phobe who felt the need to sample every attractive and willing woman.

It was a problem.

“Hey, did Sullivan tell you who is moving back to town?” Lilly asked him, looking so sly Rick felt a flicker of concern.

He wasn’t going to like what Lilly had to say.

“Who?”

“Sloane.”

Yep. He didn’t like that. Sloane was Sullivan’s sister. Two years older than them, blonde, hotter than hell.

And the girl who had seemed to make a habit out of humiliating him in high school.

All while he had silently seethed, hating her, and himself for the fact that he had the world’s biggest crush on the mean girl. He’d jerked off thinking about her more times than he cared to admit. He might have even set a world record if he had ever thought to click a counter and contact Guinness.

“Oh, yeah? What brings her back? A sale on broomsticks?” he joked.

Lilly wrinkled her nose.

“Hey.” Sullivan handed him a shot. “That’s my sister you’re talking about.”

“Yeah, I know. The stuck-up one.” Responsible for the single most humiliating moment of his teen years, involving a case of mistaken identity at a party. Not that he cared anymore. He really didn’t. In some ways, it was amusing now to reflect back on it. But it hadn’t been at the time, and whether she even remembered it or not, Rick felt permanently connected to her by that horrible memory.

So, if he were honest with himself, he wanted to see Sloane and prove to himself she no longer held the power to make him a helpless mass of hormones the way she had back in the day. And maybe he wanted Sloane to see that he was no longer Little Dickie.

“I think Sloane has matured,” Lilly said. “You’d be surprised.”

“So what brings her back to Beaver Bend?”

“She has this crazy idea in her head I need help with Finn,” Sullivan said. “Which I don’t. I don’t need her leaving her life in the city behind because she feels sorry for me.”

“She’s your sister,” Lilly said. “She loves you and Finn. But also, she just got divorced, remember? I think she probably needed a change.”