Chapter 24
CHAPTER 24
“F uck me, that hurts!” Rayna grabbed the table’s edge and blinked rapidly when her eyes watered.
“Almost done,” Arianna said before applying more wax to Rayna’s eyebrow and placing a fabric strip over it. She stretched Rayna’s skin and gave her a grin. “Ready?”
“No,” Rayna grumped, “but do it anyway.”
She screeched out another expletive as Arianna ripped away the strip and then showed her the hair on it. “Ray-Ray, you really have to let me do this on a regular basis. You’re, like, too young to have old man eyebrows.”
Emma snorted laughter from her spot at the end of the table. “Oh God, if Rayna has old man eyebrows, I hate to hear what you think of mine.”
“I told you before - you have beautiful brows,” Arianna said. “And now Rayna does, too.”
She handed Rayna a mirror, and Rayna squinted at her reflection before sighing. “I hate that they look a lot better waxed.”
“There’s nothing wrong with enhancing your natural beauty with a bit of waxing and makeup,” Arianna said. “Especially when you’re going on a date with a hot guy. Are you sure you don’t want me to give you a quick makeup lesson?”
“I appreciate the offer, but I have a full schedule tomorrow night with rescue stuff,” Rayna said. “I’ll do my makeup myself.”
“Okay, but there’s an art to makeup,” Arianna said. “I could try to cancel my plans with Brittany on Friday night and do your makeup before your date.”
Just because I don’t wear makeup doesn’t mean I don’t know how to apply it, Arianna,” Rayna said. “I’ve worn makeup before.”
“I’ve never seen you in makeup.” Arianna sank into a chair. “Okay, I’ve brought the larger strips like you asked so I can wax your muff, but do you want to wax it right here in front of Emma?”
“Wait, what? You’re waxing your lady bits?” Emma said. “Why?”
“Because she’s totally letting that tasty snack Jasper all up in her business,” Arianna said.
“You’re having sex with Jasper?” Emma said loudly and ignored Freddie when he hissed at her from his spot on the counter.
“Yes,” Rayna said. “Maybe. Probably. Don’t look at me like that, Emmy. I’m allowed to sleep with Jasper if I want to.”
“You are,” Emma said with a quick look at Arianna, “but is it Jasper you really want to sleep with?”
“Yes. He’s hot and seems funny and smart,” Rayna said. “I haven’t had sex in months. I’m banging him, Emma. I deserve to have an orgasm that doesn’t come from a damn toy, and Friday night, I’m getting that orgasm. Hell, I’m getting multiple orgasms.”
“Yeah, you are, and you’re gonna have a smooth muff when you do it.” Arianna held out her fist, and Rayna bumped it. “Drop your pants and hop up on the table, Ray-Ray.”
Rayna laughed. “I can wax my own muff, Arianna.”
Arianna gave her a skeptical look. “Can you? It’s not, like, as easy as it sounds.”
“I think I can handle it, but thank you,” Rayna said.
“Okay, but make sure you do it tonight or tomorrow night. You don’t want to wax the same night as your date. Trust me on this,” Arianna said.
Rayna nodded. “I’ve got it covered, and thank you for letting me use your waxing supplies.”
“Of course,” Arianna said. She stood and grabbed her jacket from the back of the chair. “If you don’t need me to wax your muff, I’m gonna go. I told Oliver I’d stop by the Whiskey Grill for appies with him. Make sure you call me on Saturday and tell me how the sex was with Jasper.”
“I most definitely will not,” Rayna said.
Arianna pouted at her. “You’re no fun, but I love you anyway, Ray-Ray.”
“Love you too,” Rayna said.
She waited until Arianna had left before saying, “Don’t say it, Emma.”
“I’m not saying anything,” Emma said.
“No, but I know you’re thinking it. You think I shouldn’t sleep with Jasper because I’m attracted to Stark, but trust me when I say that after last night, I am no longer even remotely attracted to that jerk.”
“I’ll admit that he was a colossal dick last night, but it’s why I’m concerned about your plan to sleep with Jasper,” Emma said.
“What do you mean?”
“I’m just wondering if your sudden decision to sleep with Jasper is more of a retaliation against Stark rather than an actual desire to bang Jasper.”
“Jasper is sexy and, unlike his cousin, has an actual personality,” Rayna said. “I’m sleeping with him because I’m attracted to him.”
“Okay, then I fully support your decision,” Emma said.
“Good. Now, I need your help deciding what to wear on this date. It needs to be sexy but functional for ice skating,” Rayna said.
“Lead me to your closet, girl,” Emma said with a smile.
As they left the kitchen and headed upstairs, Rayna ignored the guilty churning of her stomach. She wasn’t outright lying to Emma. She did find Jasper attractive, and sleeping with him had nothing to do with Stark.
Girl, please. Jasper might be good looking, but we both know you don’t have a lick of attraction to him. Are you really going through with this just because you’re pissed that Stark doesn’t want to fuck you?
She ignored her inner voice. What did she know anyway?
* * *
“You look sad, Isaac.”
“Just tired. It was a long week.” Stark forced a smile at his mother, wishing he’d listened to his instincts and texted rather than video chatted.
“You can’t lie to me, sweet boy.”
He rubbed at the back of his neck. “I’m not sad, just… annoyed with myself. I’ve been a bastard all week because of it. Everyone is avoiding me at work, and I’m pretty sure Hollis is going to either quit or murder me.”
His mother laughed. “My money is on murdering. Hollis is a lovely woman but not one to be trifled with.”
“I can’t blame her. I’ve been a total ass ever since…”
“Since what?”
“Ever since I was a dick to my neighbour. I fucked up with her a few days ago.”
His mother gave him a sympathetic look. “Tell me what happened, sweetheart.”
He hesitated, not wanting his mother to know what a dick he’d been, but ultimately who else did he have to talk to? He was thirty-two years old and had no one but his mother to confide in and share with because letting other people see the real him felt too vulnerable.
You shared with Rayna. Even told her about your terrible relationship with your father.
He had, and even though he didn’t want to admit it, it felt good to talk to her. She’d listened without judgment, and her admiration over his accomplishments had sent a curious feeling of pride through him. He shouldn’t care what she thought of him, but if that was true, why had he spent the last few days acting like an ass to everyone around him because he’d hurt her feelings. And why was he tormented by the knowledge that Rayna would be on a date with Jasper tonight?
“Isaac?”
He sighed and told his mother what had happened. She listened quietly, and when he was finished, she sat silently for another few minutes before saying, “So, was she right?”
“About what?” he asked.
“Are you jealous that she’s going out with Jasper?”
“No, of course not,” he said.
She sat serenely, waiting for him to crack under the pressure, and he folded less than thirty seconds later.
“Fine, I’m a little jealous, but only because Jasper has convinced her he’s a good guy. He’s not, Mom.”
“Sadly, no, he isn’t,” his mother said. “But he wears a very convincing mask.”
“I’m not a good guy either,” he said.
She scowled at him. “One, you have never been the type to jump into a pity pool, and I don’t expect you to start now. Two, you are a good guy. There is a difference between being horrible and being blunt.”
“I went beyond blunt with her,” he said, “and now I feel terrible about it, and I don’t understand why I feel so goddamn terrible.”
“You feel terrible, not because you were blunt, but because you lied to her,” his mother said. “You’re attracted to her, Isaac. That’s plain to see.”
“Fine, I’m attracted to her. But I want her property more, and unless I can convince her I’m not the asshole I so often am around her, I’ll never get it. Pretending to be nice is a lot harder than it seems.”
“Then stop pretending and just be nice,” his mother said.
“I don’t know how,” he said.
Her scowl deepened. “Yes, you do, Isaac. At some point in the last decade, you’ve convinced yourself that you’re an asshole, but, dearest, that simply isn’t true. You’ve put up a shield, and you keep everyone around you at a distance, but it doesn’t need to be that way. There are good people out there, people who would care for and love you just as I do if you would let them. I hate seeing you so lonely.”
“I’m not lonely.” His throat had tightened, and he could barely get the words out.
Her look was loving but firm. “Yes, my boy, you are.”
They sat in silence for a few seconds before she said, “I want you to be happy, Isaac. And I think that if you let people in, give them a chance to see the real you, you’ll be surprised at the happiness it brings you. We aren’t meant to walk alone in life.”
When he didn’t reply, she said, “Will you try for me, Isaac?”
He cleared the rasp from his throat. “Yes.”
“That’s my boy.” She beamed at him. “I think the first person you should try being yourself with, being the genuinely nice person I know you are under all that gruffness, is Ms. Abrams. Not just because it might help you convince her to sell her property, but because you like each other.”
“Like each other? We’re not in grade school, Mom,” Stark said with a faint grin.
“Thank God,” she said. “You were shockingly boring as a child. It wasn’t until you became a teen that you got really interesting.”
“Mom!”
She laughed. “You’re not the only one who can be blunt in this family, sweetheart. Now, I have to run. I’m off to the Marigold for a poker tournament this weekend.”
“Have fun. Don’t lose all of your money.”
She gave him an affronted look. “Need I remind you that I have won seven of the last ten tournaments I participated in?”
“No, you do not,” he grinned.
“Good. I love you, my boy.”
“I love you too.”
He ended the call and smiled at Molly, who had wandered into the kitchen. She chirped at him, rubbing up against his leg, and he gave her a few pets before standing. “I just need to take out the garbage, and then I’ll feed you. Go back to your babies, sweetie.”
He gave her a gentle nudge in the direction of the bedroom, satisfied when she headed down the hallway toward his room. He grabbed the garbage bag and carried it outside to the bin. Snow was falling steadily, and he glanced at Rayna’s house before tossing the bag in the bin.
He turned to go back into the house but froze when he heard the shriek from Rayna’s house.
“What the hell?” He paused on the step, listening intently, and when, a few minutes later, he heard another scream, he jogged across his yard toward Rayna’s place.