Chapter 1 #2
I second that. "We can stop at the bar on our way over."
The three of us pick up our drinks and make our way over to the bar. I slip into the same spot I just came from and flag down the bartender.
"Back for more already? What did you think of those shots?"
Fuck, she has beautiful eyes. They’re grey-blue with a dark ring around them. They’re mesmerizing.
"Honestly, they were insanely sweet. I can already feel the gut rot. We'll take three tequila shots."
"Oh god yeah, those things are awful. I was shocked when he ordered them for himself and his guy friends. But hey, I don't judge." She puts both hands up, shaking her head. "Actually, that's a lie. I totally judge."
I slap my hand on the smooth wooden surface of the bar. "Wait. He bought them for himself and his friends? Why did you give them to me?"
"He ordered them, and when I went to run his card, it declined.
Then he only had enough cash to pay for one, and since I already poured them, I didn't want them to go to waste.
Better they go to you than to the idiot who didn't have enough left over to tip me after I just made him shots that require six different ingredients. "
"Smart woman." I wink at her, and I swear she gives me a flirty smile back.
I'm usually pretty good at spotting when someone is hitting on me, but with bartenders, you can never be sure.
They make a living by making people feel special.
Hard to trust people like that. "I totally thought he bought those for us.
Good thing I didn't let his broke ass in my pants for nothing. "
She bats her eyelashes at me and slides our shots across the bar to us. Fia hands her a card, and we take our shots. I suck on a lime wedge to ease the burn of the liquor running down my throat. "Alright bitches. Let's go fuck shit up out there."
"Yay!" Iris is halfway there by the time I even take one step.
"I love you guys." Iris hangs one arm over each of our shoulders as we ascend the final flight of stairs to her apartment.
"Yeah, yeah. Love you too, you big goober." I jab my knuckle into her side, and she bursts into a fit of laughter.
"Whoa there!" Fia repositions Iris, who slipped off her shoulder and almost fell down the stairs.
Iris didn't even notice she almost fell to her death down the creaky, wooden steps of this old building. Instead, she perks up when she sees the door to her apartment. "This is me!"
I can't help but giggle at how adorable she is. "I know, honey. Remember, I live here too."
"You do?" Her eyes are as big as saucers. "In my apartment? With Bear and me?"
"No, silly, remember Fia and I live right below you. One floor down."
"That's right! I used to live there."
"You sure did."
"But now I live here. With Bear. He smells nice."
"That's great. Now, where are your keys?"
"Bear has them."
Fia looks at me across Iris's half-limp body. "She can't remember that you live in the same building as her, but she can remember that?"
I shrug with the one shoulder that doesn't have Iris weighing it down. "I'll call him." I yank my phone out of my pocket and call Bear.
"Hello?" His voice is groggy and confused.
"Hey, we're outside the door with Iris. Can you let us in?"
"Sure. She has a key, you know..."
"She said—"
"It's fine. I'll be right there."
It takes him a minute before he's unlatching the door and taking in the sight of his heavily intoxicated girlfriend. He looks between Fia and me, who aren't nearly on her level.
Iris lifts her head, which was previously dangling, when she hears the door open. "Bear!" Her grin is so big it almost looks painful.
Though his face doesn't read like he's mad at all, I still feel the need to explain. "Sorry, we got free shots at the bar and then—"
"No need to explain." A big yawn takes over his speech temporarily. "She deserves a fun night out. Thanks for getting her home safe." He takes her arms from around our necks and places them around his. Then he lifts her up, and she instinctively wraps her legs around him. "Night, ladies.”
"Night.”
After Iris graduated, she and Bear moved into the apartment above mine.
The apartment above ours used to belong to a single mom named Sarah.
I met her a few times in the two years we both lived in this building.
She was super nice, but she was a classic example of why I never want children.
Her eyes always looked like they had the life sucked out of them day in and day out.
She looked downright miserable. That is, until she married some millionaire and moved in with him.
I'm sure he has enough money to hire a nanny to take care of the little devils. Good for her.
As Fia and I step into our apartment, I'm too distracted by my train of thought that I don't notice her swooping in behind me. She bites my earlobe, and that definitely gets my attention. I turn around in her arms to face her. "So eager... Not even gonna play hard to get tonight?"
She leans in and brushes her lips across mine. "Nope. Too horny for that."
"Fine by me." That's what I love about this arrangement with Fia. No games, no emotions, no commitment. She gets to sleep with whoever else she wants, whenever she wants, and so do I.
I lean into her, adding pressure to the barely-there kiss she's teasing me with. Her hands come up, cupping the side of my face, letting me know that I’m not pulling away from this now.
One of my hands slides into the thick curls of her dark brown hair. The other slides under her corduroy jacket and loose shirt, grazing against the smooth skin of her stomach.
She backs me up until I’m hitting the couch and toppling backward onto it.
She falls right on top of me and spreads her legs to straddle my waist. She breaks our connection and sits up, giving me a great view of her.
I don’t really have a type when it comes to the women I sleep with, but who the hell wouldn’t be attracted to Sofia?
She’s universally a ten out of ten, unless you’re not attracted to Colombian goddesses.
She rips off her jacket and her shirt, leaving only a lacy bralette between my mouth and her perfect tits.
My eyes rove over her brown skin until she obstructs my view by leaning down and kissing my neck.
I’m wishing that I had taken my outer layers off before getting pinned beneath her, but she slips her hand past the elastic waistband of my pants and undoes the snaps on my onesie as she sucks on the sensitive skin above my collarbone.
Just as she starts to massage between my thighs, where I’m already wet for her, there’s a knock at the door.
“Fuck me,” I mumble into Fia’s voluminous hair as I lean my cheek against the top of her head.
“I’m trying to,” she giggles.
Whoever is impatiently waiting on the other side of our front door knocks again.
“Who the hell could that be?”
“No clue.” Fia slips off of me, and I sit up, not bothering to tuck in the flap of my onesie that’s now hanging out of my pants.
As I walk over to the door, I see Fia pull her phone out of her jacket pocket. “Oh, it’s—“
I open the door. “Bear?” He stands there sheepishly on the other side of the threshold. “What the fuck, man? I’m trying to get laid here.”
He peeks past me at Fia, who I’m assuming is still shirtless on the couch. “I’m so sorry! I tried to call you both before coming down, but you didn’t answer.”
“Yeah, that should have been your first sign that we’re busy down here.”
He rubs his hand on the back of his neck. “Right…”
Since he still hasn’t spit out his reason for being here, I press him. “So what the fuck do you need?”
Just then, I hear Iris’s voice echo off the walls down the staircase from the floor above. “Do they have it?” Her voice sounds like she’s trying to whisper, but it comes out much louder than I’m sure she intended.
I look to Bear for an answer to the question I don’t have to ask.
“Do you guys have Iris’s phone? She swears she doesn’t have it and thinks one of you guys might.”
“Shit.” I feel inside the pockets of my jacket and find two phones. I pull them both out, and the screens light up. One has a background photo of a couple in love, ice skating at one of the many outdoor rinks in the city. “Yep. Here it is.” I hold it out to Bear, and he takes it from me.
“Thank you. Again, I’m so sorry for—“
“Get out of here.”
He doesn’t bother finishing his sentence. He just nods and starts to back away from the door. “Goodnight. See you on Saturday for brunch.”
“You’d be wise to check your pancakes for poison.”
He’s already halfway up the stairs when he glances back at me.
He knows I’d never actually poison him, but that doesn’t stop his face from looking worried that I might do something else to mess with him.
The wink I give has him turning around with a slight smirk on his face and jogging up the stairs to a waiting Iris.
I watch him leave, and I’m not sure why, but I linger in the doorway a moment longer.
It must be nice to have someone who’s always there to look after you, like Bear and Iris do for each other.
I’ve seen my sister, Lou, and her fiancé, Sam, do the same.
Since meeting Sam, my older sister has become more carefree than I’ve ever seen her.
I never thought about it before, but I’m sure it has something to do with the fact that she knows someone will always be there to catch her if she falls.
That must ease her worry and make taking a leap a lot easier for her.
I feel a slight twinge in my chest, and I rub my hand against it until the ache goes away. Goddamn heartburn.