Chapter 11 #2
“Flip already helped pay for my degree. And I’m freeloading off of him and you right now. It’s not his fault he’s extraordinarily talented and I’m average.”
“You’re not average, Bea.” Since she’s been here, our place has been organized and spotless.
We’re eating better than we ever have. The fridge is always stocked, and I’ve seen what she’s done with Flip’s financial portfolio.
His investments are already up thanks to her tweaks.
I’m tempted to hand over mine. Plus, she has a full-time job and still stays on top of everything else. And the sex is amazing.
She drops her gaze. “You know what I mean. His career pays him assloads of money while mine is stable and respectable.”
I want to brush her hair behind her ear, but I don’t. “His career will only last a decade, though, or two, if he’s lucky.” The toaster pops, and I arrange the English muffins on our plates.
“He’ll still make more in the next five years than I will in a lifetime, no matter what job I choose. So for now, I want the one that offers me more opportunities for growth.”
“I don’t know that you should discount using Flip’s career to your advantage. You had to give up a lot for him to get where he is,” I say. Maybe more than I realized, actually.
“He had talent that needed to be fostered,” she says, tone defensive.
Bea was always dragged along to games. She’d sit in the arena either reading a book or watching, at least until she was old enough to stay home on her own.
Then she’d be in charge of things like household chores or making dinner.
I remember dropping Flip off after practice and finding her home alone at age eleven, making dinner because both their parents worked shifts.
“He absolutely did,” I agree. “And clearly all that time and effort panned out. But you’re talented, too.”
She arches a brow. “At being turned into a sex pretzel?”
“You’re the complete package Bea. You’re smart, savvy, resourceful, and good at more than just one thing.
And you’re fucking beautiful, which is a nice bonus.
Me and Flip have all our eggs in this one basket, and our careers won’t last forever.
But you? You’ve got options, if you want to take them.
All I’m saying is that he has some great connections because of his job, and there’s nothing wrong with using them. ”
“It just feels wrong.”
“It shouldn’t.” I layer the egg and peameal on top of the cheese and top it with English muffin. Then I put a second one on her plate.
“I only need one,” she says as I push the plate toward her.
“I rode you hard last night. You need to fuel up.” And she’s always waiting on me and Flip, making sure we’re fed before she serves herself.
Her cheeks flush. “And you don’t?”
“I’ll have breakfast round two after my workout. Besides, we’re doing laps, and I’ll end up with stomach cramps if I eat too much.”
I scarf down my egg sandwiches in under three minutes while Bea savors hers.
I demolish most of the fruit salad, but then realize she hasn’t had any yet and leave the rest. Once we’ve finished breakfast, she goes up to the loft to change, and I tidy the kitchen.
I’ve just finished getting dressed when Roman messages that he’s here.
I buzz him up since we’re planning to use the pool here for laps.
It’s quiet during the workday, and there are fewer distractions.
I let Roman in a minute later, and Bea comes down from the loft. She’s holding a pair of heels in one hand, and her giant purse is slung over her shoulder.
She gives Roman a wide, genuine smile. “Hey, how’s it going?”
“Good. How about you? Flip mentioned you got a new job. Congrats.”
“Thanks. I’m enjoying it so far. Now I need to find an apartment and I’m all set.” She drops her purse and braces a hand on the counter, slipping on her shoes.
I immediately picture her naked except for the heels. They’d look great resting on my shoulders.
She snaps her fingers. “Earth to Tris.”
“Huh?”
“Have you seen the newspaper that was sitting on the counter? I circled a bunch of ads. I want to research neighborhoods before I make more calls.” She looks at me expectantly.
More calls? I don’t like the sound of that.
“Maybe Flip tossed it in the recycling?” I know exactly where that newspaper is.
In the garbage. Where I threw it while I was cleaning up breakfast. It’s under the eggshells and the extra ketchup I scraped off Bea’s plate.
I already know those places she circled weren’t in great neighborhoods.
I get that she’s looking for something affordable, but it needs to be safe, too.
She checks the time. “Crap. I gotta go. If you see that paper, can you save it? Oh, and I’ll be home around seven.”
I frown. She gets off at five. It only takes her half an hour to get home. “Why will you be so late? Are you taking the subway or an Uber?”
She gives me a funny look. “Uh, the subway, like I always do. I have to run a couple of errands. I prepped a bunch of pasta dinners, if you can’t wait, but I’m making quesadillas tonight. Roman, you’re always welcome to join.”
“Thanks, but Peggy and I have a dinner date tonight.”
Her hand goes to her chest. “It’s sweet that you have dinner dates. Tell her I said hi. Anyway, I gotta run. You boys have a good workout.” She picks up her messenger bag and clicks her way to the door.
I watch her leave. I briefly wonder what a dinner date would be like with Bea, but squash that since we’re just fucking and that can’t ever happen.
Once she’s gone, I turn to Roman. His arms are crossed.
“’Sup?”
“Dude.”
“Dude, what?” I grab a dishrag and start wiping down the counter.
“How long has that been going on?”
“How long has what been going on?” Fuck, fuck, fuck .
He shakes his head. “I know that look, man. You got it bad.”
I laugh. “You mean Beat?”
His left eyebrow climbs his forehead.
“Rix. Beatrix. Flip’s sister. We can’t stand each other.”
He nods slowly. “Uh-huh.”
“Seriously. That we managed to be in the same room and not rip each other’s heads off is a miracle.
” Although it’s been better lately. Last night was good after I stopped being a dick.
And this morning was…nice. I ball the rag up and toss it on the counter, then go back and smooth it out, because it drives her up the wall when Flip and I do that.
“Right. Okay. You keep living in the land of denial.” Roman stands.
“I’m not in the land of denial. She annoys the hell out of me.” Especially when she wears those tiny shorts when Flip’s around, and I can’t bend her over the nearest surface and spank her naughty ass.
“If you say so. Ready to hit the pool?”
“Yeah.” I put on my slides and grab my duffle.
“One last question, though, and then I’ll drop it.”
I make a go-on motion.
“Does Flip know you’ve got a thing for his sister?”
“Fuck off. We barely tolerate each other.” At least that’s how I felt when she moved in. Now, though…I’m not so sure.
I push myself hard during my workout with Roman, and push myself even harder during the team skate. I need to play tighter during our next exhibition game or Hollis will take my place on first line. And rightfully so if I keep playing like it’s my first year in the pros.
Then I meet my dad for a quick coffee since he’s in the city and between meetings.
“How you feeling about the exhibition game this weekend?” he asks.
“All right. Hoping it goes better than last night.” I shake my head.
“Hollis being back is stressing you out, eh?” He sips his coffee.
“Yeah. Got inside my own head. I’m my own worst enemy sometimes.”
Dad nods.
“How’s Brody doing?” I ask.
“He’s okay. He had an off game the other night. He was supposed to go out with some of his teammates, but decided to stay home instead, which isn’t like him.”
Those hickeys and bite marks the last time he and I shot the puck around come to mind.
Maybe he’s avoiding that girl because he’s not into her and doesn’t want the awkwardness.
I’ve done the same thing when Flip has brought home girls and I didn’t feel like being part of the party.
“I should call him. Make sure he knows we all have bad games.”
Dad nods. “It’d be good for him to hear that from you. He has practice until eight tonight, but maybe after that.”
“Okay. And once I’m back from the game this weekend, I’ll come your way for dinner or something.”
We talk for a bit longer, and I go over my brother’s game schedule and compare it with mine.
It looks like I’ll be able to make a few of his games this month, but once the season starts, it’ll be harder.
I promise to call later in the week, and when Dad leaves for his next meeting, I head to the gym so I can run out some of my stress.
Flip and Bea are already in the kitchen when I get home a couple hours later. It smells freaking fantastic.
“Dude, we’re having a quesadilla fiesta tonight!” Flip passes me a beer. “How was your dad?”
“Good. We had a quick coffee between meetings. This looks amazing. Can I do anything to help?”
“Nope. You’re good.” Bea keeps her eyes on the lime she’s cutting into wedges.
We sit down for dinner, but everything feels off. Bea ignores my existence and gives me one-word answers. I would have expected that before, but I sort of thought we were heading for civil territory, especially after last night.
Maybe she’s so quiet and standoffish because we’re lying to Flip.
Fresh guilt gnaws at me, along with a general unease.
I can’t decide why I feel bad—because I’m lying to my best friend, or because it puts Bea in a weird position.
Or both. I don’t want her to call off our sex pact, though. I still want more.
I get a minute with her after dinner when Flip disappears into the bathroom. “What’s going on?”
She purses her lips. “I’m trying not to be obvious, and it’s hard when you look like that.” She flings a hand toward me.
“Like what?” I run a palm down my chest. I’m wearing a T-shirt and joggers.
She rolls her eyes. “A snack.”
I smirk. “You should come to my bedroom later. I’ll give you something to snack on.”
She pokes my chest and grabs her purse. “Ugh. Your ego is annoying.”
Flip comes out of the bathroom as she slips into her shoes.
“You heading out?” Flip asks the question I can’t.
“Yeah. I’m getting a drink with Hemi and Hammer. You boys have a good night.”
And then she’s out the door.
“You wanna go out?” Flip asks. “I met a couple of superfans last night, and they’re heading to this club tonight.”
“Uh, nah. I’m not really feeling it tonight. But you have fun.” If Bea wasn’t so edgy, we might have had a few hours alone, and I could have gotten another fix.
“Come on, man. You’ve been a pretty shitty wingman lately,” he presses.
I rub the back of my neck. I don’t want to find creative ways to avoid sleeping with a bunny tonight. “Hemi’s not wrong, man.”
“Not wrong about what?”
“About this shit coming back to bite us in the ass. My youngest brother sees what’s going on in my life through social media. It’s not really the best role modeling.”
Flip snorts. “Since when have you been worried about being a good role model?”
I can’t explain it to him without adding more lies to the pile, and another side of guilt for wanting his sister. “I just… I’m not in the mood to pick up.”
He holds his hands up. “Okay. It’s cool. I’ll call Dallas.”
He grabs his phone and heads for his bedroom.
Roman’s words keep rolling around in my head. I’m not staying home because of Bea. We’re just fucking. That’s it.