No Bad Days (Fisher Brothers 1)

“Look at me, Jess,” he begged until my eyes finally found his.

“What? I’m looking,” I said, my tone bitchy and annoyed.

“I wasn’t being serious. Grand Master Paz is one of my favorite rappers, and I just wanted to talk to him. I’d called a minute before, and they asked me what I wanted to talk to him about. When I told them something stupid, they hung up on me. So I called back with something better. It’s all I could think of that might work.”

My heart rate slowed its frantic pace as his words sank in. I relaxed a little as my anger faded; I wanted so badly to believe him.

“Seriously?” I asked cautiously, not wanting to believe him if it wasn’t true.

“I swear. It was just so I could talk to him. I didn’t mean it.” He shifted his weight. “I mean, unless you wanted to,” he suggested with a slight laugh, and I socked him in the shoulder as hard as I could. He threw his hands up in surrender. “Joking, Jess. Still joking. Stop hitting me.”

A small smile took over my lips before I could stop it, and I felt myself leaning into him, the comfort of his body no longer something I wanted to resist. I believed him.

Nick’s arms circled me as he pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. “You would have known all of this already if you’d answered any of my calls last night. Or read my text messages.”

“Yeah, well, I was too pissed.”

“Because you’re stubborn.”

“Maybe a little.” I had never wondered if I was stubborn or not, but in this moment I knew Nick was right. “But, come on. Put yourself in my shoes.”

He gave me a big grin. “My girlfriend wants to have a threesome? I’m in.”

“You’re a pig,” I blurted, pulling away from him.

“I’m a guy,” he said with a shrug.

I glanced around at the students still gathered around us, watching us with intense stares.

Moving my mouth to his ear, I whispered, “All those people heard you last night. And if they didn’t hear you themselves, they heard from their friends. They all know what you said. You made me look like an idiot, and right now they’re all standing there judging me, thinking I’m stupid for forgiving you.”

I focused on his mouth as I waited for a response, not wanting to see the glares being cast my way by all those who didn’t understand what had happened in the last ninety seconds.

Nick looked around at the crowd before clearing his throat. “Morning, everyone. I’m sure by now you all heard me on the radio last night.” He paused when a few guys started cheering and hollering, and held a hand in the air for them to stop. “I’ve pretty much worshipped GMP since I was a kid, and I just wanted to talk to him. I didn’t mean what I said, so you can all stop judging Jess right now for still being with me. It was a fucking joke. This is the first and last time I’ll ever address my relationship with any of you, but I wanted to clear the air.” He looked down at me with a sincere smile. “For her sake. Now, leave us the fuck alone.”

My insides were on fire at the combination of Nick’s declaration and my embarrassment at being the center of attention.

“All better?” He gripped my waist and pulled me against him before lowering his lips to mine and kissing me in full view of anyone who was still around to watch.

I groaned against his mouth. “Thanks for that.”

Nick smirked as he moved away slowly. “Anything for you. What time are you done with class?”

“Two hours.”

“I’ll pick you up after.”

He branded me with his lips one more time before heading in the opposite direction. You’d think I’d be used to him doing things like that by now, but the guy constantly left me dumbfounded and struggling to breathe.

How could I go from such lows to such extreme highs so quickly? This relationship was exhausting at times, but so worth it.

Hopeless

Nick

Never in all of my twenty-one years had I created the kind of spectacle that I did this morning with Jess. At least, not to my knowledge. And I never would have given that sort of speech for any other girl besides her. My feelings for Jess grew every day. I was finding it harder and harder to keep them in check, but I needed to.

Falling for someone wasn’t part of the plan. My father would probably go into cardiac arrest if he knew about her. His romantic plans for me had always included the daughter of a wealthy business partner.