Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
C ade
“Whoa, Aaron, you got a major suntan,” I say as we hang out in the family room our first night back from break.
“And you don’t,” he counters. “Was the weather in Mexico not good? Because Punta Cana had gorgeous weather.”
“I didn’t end up going to Mexico,” I explain since we didn’t touch base at all during break. “I went to Annie’s farm instead. It’s a few hours’ drive from here.”
He’s drinking a can of cola and pauses mid-sip. “Why the hell would you do that? It’s fake.”
I duck my head and whisper, “Would you keep it down? She needed my help with her ex. I’m not sure how fake things are. I have feelings for her and she froze me out.”
“Ouch.” He winces. “You have no luck with girls.”
“It isn’t that,” I begin, but I don’t continue what I was going to say. He wouldn’t understand that I bonded with Annie on a different level. Besides being pretty and having a body I want to devour; I like her mind too. Hanging out with her was fun and chill. Annie is drop-dead gorgeous and smart. It’s no surprise I’d be feeling this way. Annie is the whole package.
“So what is it?” Aaron asks as Luc, Hayden, Macklin, and Ruby walk in the door.
The distraction gives me an out from answering the question.
It’s snowing again, which is no surprise, and they come in with their heavy winter coats, hats, red cheeks, and suitcases.
“How was break?” Aaron asks.
“It depends who you ask,” Luc answers first.
Hayden rolls his eyes and mutters something about going to his room. He pauses at the staircase. “Are you staying with him now?” he asks, looking between Macklin and Ruby.
They both look like they’ve been stunned, and they don’t have an answer.
“Looks like big brother found out about you two,” Aaron observes.
Hayden’s eyes widen. “He knows and I didn’t?” He sounds pissed and Aaron winces.
“They just found out before break,” Macklin explains.
“Because I thought Ruby was having a threesome with Finn and Charlie,” Luc explains.
Hayden’s eyes get a crazy glint. I think they may pop out of his head.
“Bro, it was a mix-up. Luc had everything wrong,” Macklin assures.
“I’ll just stay down here for now,” Ruby mutters. She’s been staying in our house temporarily and started hooking up with Macklin, who is Hayden’s best friend, behind his back.
Hayden goes up to his room and Aaron and I hug the guys.
“So what’s with you and Annie?” Macklin asks me.
“How do you know?” I ask with confusion.
“You do know you met Annie because she’s friends with Ruby,” Macklin reminds.
“Right.”
“We saw your Insta posts and her Insta posts. Wanna explain why a cow is sending you love?” Macklin asks as he takes his coat off and removes his boots. He takes a seat on the couch and lets out a big yawn. Luc takes the seat beside him.
“The cow is an inside joke. I had a difference of opinion with my parents and didn’t want to join them in Mexico, so I went home with Annie instead,” I explain.
“And now you guys are together?” Luc asks.
“Kinda.” I nod. I regret lying to the guys because they are all my good friends. “That’s not true. But I need to tell you guys something and I need it to stay a secret.”
They all agree to keep things under wraps.
“We’re fake dating,” I blurt. I don’t know how I thought I could keep a secret from these guys. They are my ride or dies.
“What the hell does that mean?” Luc asks.
“It means we’re pretending to be in a relationship because she needs my help getting her ex off her back, and I needed her help showing Scarlett I’ve moved on,” I explain.
“But she’s hot and good for you,” Luc states.
He isn’t wrong. Being with Annie makes me happy, but we clearly aren’t ready for a step like that.
“You guys have serious chemistry. Why can’t it be real?” Luc asks.
“It’s complicated. I ended up spending the holidays with Annie on her farm. One of the best Christmases I’ve ever had.” I place one leg over my knee. “But she doesn’t want anything right now. I need to respect her boundaries. Both our lives are complicated.”
“Just get over Scarlett and move on,” Aaron urges.
“It’s not that, bro. My mom left my dad over break,” I announce.
The guys make a range of hissing sounds. “How, why?” Macklin asks.
“Dude, they only acted like the perfect couple and perfect family, but behind closed doors things were really messed up,” I confess. The guys have never heard me speak this way before. They would come home with me to visit and Mom would make all kinds of delicious Korean dishes. Everything seemed normal and happy when it was anything but.
“Well, don’t feel bad. Stuff happens,” Macklin says.
“I guess. I’m just happy my mom isn’t putting up with my dad’s bullshit anymore,” I declare.
“Rough,” Luc says.
“Yeah, bro. But it was nice to spend the holiday with Annie.”
“You like her,” Macklin remarks.
“She’s pretty.” I shrug.
“Pretty, huh?” Aaron repeats.
Ruby leaves her room looking like she’s ready to go out.
“I’m going to meet the girls at Black Jack’s,” she tells Macklin. She walks up to him and kisses him. Whoa. This is going to take some getting used to. We all looked at Ruby as off-limits because Hayden is super protective of her.
Macklin smacks her ass. “You look hot.”
“Uh, bro, you’re lucky Hayden isn’t around,” Luc says. “You already stirred the pot, you don’t want to be setting it on fire, if you know what I mean.”
“Right,” Macklin replies. “Are you getting a ride there?” he asks Ruby.
“Briar is coming to pick me up. Annie’s coming along too,” she mentions, looking at me.
“What?” I ask her.
“We saw you’re posts,” she announces. “I’m going to find out the goods.” She waggles her brows.
She gets a text.
“Briar is here,” Ruby says and slips on her coat. “Bye, have a good night,”
“So how was Punta Cana, bro?” Luc asks Aaron.
“It was fire. Hooked up with this gymnast,” he says. “Bro, the things she could do with her body.” He bites on his knuckle.
I chill out with the guys for the rest of the night but, in reality, I want to see Annie and hear how the rest of her holiday went. I spent the rest of mine thinking about her and all the good times we had together. I also missed talking to her, but that doesn’t mean I want us to be together. I don’t. Okay, that’s a lie. I want Annie. I just don’t know how to convince her to take a chance on us.