Chapter 7
Lacey
A veena Harper and Diamond Mitchell have always been kind, good-hearted people. Unlike me, it didn’t take them eighteen years and the tragic loss of a parent to grow into themselves.
Truth be told, I owe a lot of the girl I’ve become to them—after all, you are who you hang out with. With that being said, just because they’re kind doesn’t mean they’re not capable of knocking some sense into you if they feel you’ve lost your way.
Something they’ve made clear by showing up at my house unannounced.
Dia paces around my living room, racking her brain for an explanation. “Did you get abducted by aliens? Is that it? Because not too long ago, there was nothing on God’s green earth that would’ve made you want to date TJ.”
“When we tried to set you up, you said you would rather deep-throat a cactus than go out with him. Two weeks of tutoring him, and suddenly, you’re all lovey-dovey?” Aveena adds.
They’ve been grilling me for answers since they came in.
To no one’s surprise, TJ’s hero moment got people talking—and by people, I mean Heather. She started running her mouth, and the next thing I knew, the girls were blowing up my phone.
What’s crazier? It’s only been a day since she and Aaron walked in on us.
I know TJ came up with this fake relationship crap to give Aaron a taste of his own medicine, and in his own way, he was trying to be nice, but I wish he hadn’t taken pity on me.
I don’t have the energy to keep up this charade.
“We’re not really dating,” I fess up.
I can’t lie to these girls. They know me too well, and I’d rather have them know the truth than think I’m having a mental breakdown.
“Wait, what?” Dia plops down onto my couch next to Aveena. “But Heather said you were all over each other. She made it sound like you were fucking on the couch.”
On second thought, if anyone is having a mental breakdown, it’s Heather. We were barely cuddling, let alone kissing. Not that I’m surprised she’d try to embellish the story for attention.
“There was no making out. And I sure as hell didn’t fuck him.” I cover my face with my hands and groan. “It was TJ’s idea. Heather and Aaron came in when we were studying. They were making out in the kitchen, and I guess TJ felt bad for me because Aaron ghosted me after our date. He started talking shit to make Aaron jealous.”
The girls’ mouths round into a perfect O shape.
“So, nothing happened?” Dia asks.
I shrug. “No, he put his arm around me, and that was that. It was a stupid idea. I should’ve said something. Now everybody knows.”
Aveena chuckles. “Well, shit. We really thought you’d lost your mind for a second there.”
I can’t blame them. I went from hating all men, especially men like TJ, to “dating” him without telling anyone.
“What I don’t get is why TJ even knew about Aaron ghosting you. Why would he care about your love life?” Dia comments.
I let out a sigh. “He doesn’t. It’s just…”
Do I tell them everything? They only know I’m tutoring him. They have no clue I’m only doing it because of our arrangement.
I blow out a breath. “TJ and I have a deal. I help him with school, and in exchange, he helps me find a man.”
Neither of them makes a sound for a few seconds.
Until Aveena says, “Good. I’m glad you’re trying to put yourself out there. If TJ’s the way to do it, then I support it.”
Dia nods. “Me, too. You deserve true love in your life. And if not true love, then you deserve crazy animal sex. We’ll do anything to help.”
I laugh, shaking my head at my friends. “And how do you plan on doing that?”
Dia and Aveena exchange glances, sharing thoughts I can’t decode.
“What is it?”
Dia flashes a cunning smile and reaches for my phone sitting next to me on the couch.
“What are you doing?” I try to stop her, but she flings it out of my reach. Of course, she knows my passcode and easily gets into my phone.
She starts scrolling through my contacts. “Finding you a babysitter.”
Then she says the one thing I was afraid of.
“We’re going out tonight.”
It’s as though my shoes are made of concrete when the Uber drops us off in front of Theo and Chance’s house.
My first mistake was telling the girls about my deal with TJ. My second was letting them call my babysitter to come watch my siblings. But none of them compares to my third and biggest mistake of the night.
I let them doll me up and take me to a party. Theo’s party, to be exact. Remember the black dress TJ said I would look hot in? Well, the girls agreed.
I can’t remember the last time I wore something this tight or showed this much cleavage. The dress fits me like a second skin, and the makeup they put on me is… intense, to say the least. I haven’t worn this much eyeliner in a hot minute.
I argued and argued, but then I figured…
I’ve been meaning to partake in the college experience. Maybe this is my chance.
Theo and his roommates throw crazy parties every Friday and Saturday night. Most people call Theo’s parties legendary, mostly because they never end but also because the house has this insane swimming pool.
Aveena went home a bit before the Uber got to my place. She was exhausted, and her feet and back hurt, so she called Xavier to come pick her up. She said she knew I was in good hands with Dia and to tell her everything the next day.
“Come on.” Dia links our arms together as we walk to the front door, the music’s bass thumping through the walls and echoing down the street.
We’re blinded by bright flashes from the moment we step inside. Dia and I stick our hands in front of our faces, blocking out the lights of the projectors casting patterns all over the walls.
Heat envelops us immediately, but it doesn’t bother me as much as the overpowering smell of sweat and strong liquor filling the air.
The place is packed, people gathering in front of a makeshift DJ booth in the corner of the living room. Theo and Chance are behind it, holding their phones and bickering about something. Probably the next song.
Dia’s hand wraps around mine, and before I know it, we’re facing the current of drunk students, edging our way toward the kitchen.
We pass the dining room, where a game of beer pong is being played, and my gaze lands on Aaron. He’s playing against Finn, Dia’s fiancé.
Aaron notices me at the same time I see him, and he flashes a weird smile—I say weird because it lands somewhere between a genuine and uncomfortable smile.
“Where are we going?” I ask when Dia parks herself in front of the fridge.
“To have fun. We deserve it after the year we’ve had,” Dia declares, the determination in her voice telling me there’s no changing her mind.
I nod and accept my fate. “Having fun it is.”
She starts going through the stainless-steel fridge and pulls out a bottle of chardonnay. “I asked Finn to bring this in case we stopped by.”
We grab a knife out of a kitchen drawer to cut the seal off the bottle, and Dia gets two red cups from the unused pile. She’s still pouring me a drink when a strong pair of arms wraps around my waist from behind and tugs me backward.
My back comes flush with a hard chest, and the large hand on my stomach drifts downward, locking around my hips to keep me in place.
The stranger’s mouth stops inches away from my ear. “Give a guy a fucking warning, rich girl.”
I stiffen up, TJ’s voice feeling like hot liquid coursing down my spine. I free myself of his embrace and whip around to tell him off. His piercing brown eyes nearly cut off my airways for a moment, but I manage to keep my cool long enough to say, “What?”
A smirk lifts his mouth as he drinks me in and says, “If you’re going to look like that, I’m going to need a heads-up. Every fucking guy at this party is going to be looking at you, and breaking my teammates’ noses wasn’t a part of my plans tonight.”
He seems to enjoy the shock on my face, because he adds, “Plus, no one’s going to believe we’re dating now.”
I cock an eyebrow. “And why is that?”
“Because if you really were my girlfriend and I’d seen you wearing that dress, we wouldn’t have made it to the fucking party to begin with.”
I need a second to recover from whatever the hell that was.
“There you go.” Dia hands me my drink, loving every second of this tension if the smile she’s wrestling is anything to go by.
“I… Thanks.” I bring the wine to my lips and take a long sip.
Dia and TJ exchange brief greetings, but it doesn’t diffuse the tension floating around us in the slightest.
“I’m surprised you came, babe .” TJ hooks his arm around my waist again and pulls me back in, but this time, we’re facing each other, and the proximity makes my stomach knot. He turns to Dia. “How’d you get her to leave the house? Bribery?”
A knowing smile spreads across my best friend’s face. “Something like that. I should probably go find my fiancé now.”
Then she leaves me alone with him.
Traitor.
I don’t let my anxiety show, staring TJ dead in the eye, as I say, “You don’t have to pretend in front of her. She knows it’s bullshit.”
He doesn’t loosen his hold on my body one bit, his gaze darting to something behind me before returning to my face. “Aaron doesn’t.”
I put the pieces together. “Is he…”
TJ lowers his voice to whisper. “Staring at us like he wants to feed my body to a pack of wolves? Yep.”
I scoff. “I figured he’d be too busy with Heather.”
TJ’s laughter makes my stomach clench. “She’s talking his ears off. But he hasn’t looked at her once since I came up to you.”
Goddamn it.
I’m attracted to him.
I don’t want to be, but I am.
I hope he’s not going to be this touchy all the time. I haven’t felt the warmth of a man in so long I just might go and do something stupid like want more.
“To be honest, I’m not even sure I like him anymore,” I confess.
TJ doesn’t answer, moving away from me and catching my hand in his. “Then let’s go find you another prospect.”
TJ laces his fingers with mine, and even though every bone in my body is telling me to resist, I let him lead me to the dance floor—i.e., the packed living room.
The only light in the room comes from the projectors casting patterns all over the walls and ceilings, but the area is just bright enough for me to discern Chance and his girlfriend, Bethany, jumping to the beat of the music.
Chance’s eyes widen in shock when he sees TJ and me holding hands, and I realize most people probably thought Heather was talking out of her ass.
My heart bounds against my ribs when TJ slips behind me, his big hands falling on each side of my waist. Our bodies are flush together, so close I can feel every muscle in his chest pushing against my back.
TJ starts to dance, but I haven’t had nearly enough wine to relax, and he seems to feel it, his fingers digging into my hip bones and drawing small but precise circles.
“You should know I haven’t danced in a hot minute,” I whisper.
He laughs, his breath brushing against my neck. “Noted.”
I eventually ease into his touch, letting his hands guide me. Just like that, we’re dancing. He’s showing me how to move at first, but then I sway my hips on my own, my years of cheerleading coming back to me.
I get lost in the moment, resting my head on his shoulder and rubbing against him a little too provocatively for my taste. I realize what I’m doing a heartbeat later and try to move away, but he tightens his grip on my hips, keeping me there.
“Don’t go getting shy on me now, Mattson.”
My eyes sweep across the room, and my pulse quickens. Nearly everyone is watching us dance. I see Aaron turn the corner with Heather. Then I see Dia. And Finn. And Theo.
They’re talking by the front door, but they’re casting glances in our direction every few seconds. With the way they’re gaping at us, you’d think we were having sex right in the middle of the dance floor.
“Turn around,” TJ commands.
I hesitate.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Lacey.”
My throat dries, a drop of anxiety mixing with the lust coursing through my veins, but I oblige.
“Look at me. Not them,” TJ instructs from the moment our eyes meet.
“Everyone is staring at us,” I state the obvious.
He seems pleased by that. “Then we’re doing something right.”
We’re not dancing anymore, just standing still in a crowd of drunk students.
“Do you remember what I said? About guys wanting what they can’t have?” he says quietly.
“Yeah?”
TJ cups my jaw, inches forward from my face, and whispers, “This is the part where I show them what they’re missing.”
“What—”
He cuts me off with a kiss so light, at first, I wonder if the whole thing is happening in my head.
There’s a pause in the music at the exact same time TJ’s mouth brushes against mine, and I hear a gasp. At first, I think it came from someone in the crowd, but then TJ roughly parts my lips with his tongue, and I realize it was me.
I did that.
I don’t like him. Never have, but my hands still fly out to grip the collar of his shirt. His tongue slides over mine, and a part of me wants to cry tears of relief. It’s been so long since I’ve had this. With anyone.
Oh, God.
What if I’m a bad kisser now?
Or is kissing like riding a bike?
The groan rising in TJ’s throat when I return his kiss with twice as much ardor shoves my doubts to the back of my mind. His hand moves to the base of my neck, and he squeezes like he’s intent on robbing me of the oxygen in my lungs.
I expected TJ to be a decent kisser—he’s obviously had plenty of opportunities to practice—but I didn’t think he’d be the knock-me-on-my-ass kind of kisser.
Few people are.
Keeping one of his hands on my throat, he rests the other one on my lower back, just inches above my ass, and presses on my tailbone to crush our bodies together.
That’s when I feel it.
How hard he is.
The intensity of his kiss leaves me yearning for more. A whimper escapes me when he bites down on my bottom lip, and I feel his mouth tip into a cocky smile. I respond by lacing my fingers through his hair and tugging just enough to hurt him. He seems to take the hint because he stops smiling, a low, irritated growl leaving him.
Much better.
We only stop when I start to feel light-headed, and I’m grateful for his hand pressing on my back. I don’t even know if I could’ve steadied myself.
We’re both chasing our breaths by the time our gazes fuse together.
That just happened.
“You really think that’s going to work?” I say, panting in his arms.
TJ’s gaze sweeps across the room quickly. “It already has.”
I scan the area to find every guy in the vicinity looking at us. Even Aaron. He’s leaning against the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest, boring holes through TJ’s head.
“Jacobs, help us get the keg inside, will you?” Finn’s voice cuts through the air, and we turn to see Dia’s fiancé standing in the doorway. “You can feel up your girlfriend later.”
His girlfriend .
If everyone didn’t think we were a thing before, they definitely do now.
That’s TJ’s cue to separate from me.
He flashes a small smile, and then he leans in, brushing his lips against my cheek before he says, “Pleasure doing business with you, Mattson.”
I watch him walk away, my head spinning with all the different ways this could come back to bite us in the ass.