“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.