Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
When Thea emerged from her bedroom, sleepy-eyed and ready for decaf coffee and sugar-filled cereal, she stumbled and clutched at her heart when she saw a stranger in their kitchen.
A stranger wearing nothing but an oversized T-shirt that fell to her mid-thigh. A man’s T-shirt.
A gorgeous young stranger. Maybe twenty or twenty-one years old?
Draven. Man-slut. Maxwell .
Thea’s rage did nothing to cauterize the bleeding cracks in her heart as she realized Draven—having surpassed the seven-day sex ban—had hooked up with someone last night after their fight at the restaurant.
Why do I feel so damn angry? We’ve never even kissed . Yet, the organ in her chest acted like it had been violently stabbed and dipped in a lemon juice and bleach cocktail. Did learning about Alec’s cheating even feel this bad?
Thea pressed her lips into a thin line as she bit her tongue and suppressed the need to scream.
The half-clad blonde danced in front of the coffee machine while she waited for it to finish brewing. The stranger swung her hips side to side, reached into the fridge, and pulled out a carton of almond milk as Thea watched silently.
That is my milk , Thea growled to herself.
Ruled by immature instinct and jealousy and whatever the heck was toxically pumping through her veins, Thea snatched the milk carton from the woman.
She gasped at seeing Thea. Then, she smiled and began talking, probably introducing herself as Draven’s latest lay.
Thea pointed to the milk carton and flattened a hand over her chest. “ My milk .”
The blonde laughed and lifted her hands in the air as surrender.
If Thea signed that Draven was hers too, would the stranger back down so easily?
The blonde said something else.
“ I’m deaf ,” Thea signed.
The blonde slapped her forehead as if she had been told Thea was deaf but forgotten.
Draven mentioned me to his one-night stand?
Finally, Draven—the legend, the myth, the dead man—shuffled through the kitchen, yawning. He rubbed his eyes and nodded to Thea and the blonde.
Just as the blonde finished pouring herself a cup of coffee, Draven stole the mug from her. He lifted it to his lips and blew, making eye contact with Thea as his lips pursed over the cup.
Thea glared and mimed taking an invisible dagger out of her back and placing it onto the counter.
He frowned, putting the mug down. Glancing between her and the blonde, Draven blinked, and understanding washed over his expression. He shook his head at Thea. After pointing to the blonde, Draven mimed a pregnancy belly.
Thea’s jaw dropped.
Had he gotten this woman pregnant?
Seeing her reaction, Draven rapidly shook his head no again.
In a desperate rush to explain, Draven grabbed the blonde, pulling and positioning her so they stood side by side. He then shoved the blonde down by her head, so she was much, much shorter than him. Meanwhile, the blonde slapped at him to let her stand back at her normal height.
* * *
Shit, shit, shitake mushrooms . Hadn’t he told Thea his sister was crashing at the apartment last night? Oh, right. His previous two interactions with Thea were: A) their fight yesterday and B) her secretly watching as he jerked off to orgasm in his room. So, no, he had not told her.
And she clearly thought Summer was some hookup. Gross .
“Jesus, Summer, can’t you put on some pants?” Draven asked his little sister.
She shrugged. “I’m your sister. Don’t look at my legs.”
“ I’m not looking at them. You’re painting the wrong picture to my roommate right now.” When he glanced back to Thea, he mouthed, “Sister. Sister.” He groaned. “Damn it, where is a notepad and pen?”
Thea grabbed the Post-its they kept in the kitchen and wrote in marker, “ Your hookups are not allowed to use my milk. And she is way too young for you. Pig . – Your respectful tenant .”
Back to passive-aggressive notes? Noooooo .
Draven grabbed the pad of Post-its from her and wrote back, “ She is my younger sister. I haven’t hooked up with anyone since you moved in . – Your celibate and incredibly sexy landlord with blue balls, the color of a first-place ribbon .”
Thea narrowed her gray blues on him, suspicious.
He underlined “ I haven’t ” on his note.
“You guys don’t act like roommates,” Summer remarked, intrigued by watching them. “Seems like a jealous lover’s spat to me.” She sipped the coffee and cringed, spitting it back into the cup. “What the heck is this?”
“Decaf coffee.”
“Ex-fucking-cuse me?” Summer replied, never sounding quite like people imagined of a prodigy cellist.
Draven responded in a huffy, impatient tone, “Thea likes coffee in the morning, but caffeine makes her ears ring.”
Thea still glared at him.
He shot her a “ What gives? ” expression.
Her scowl replied, “ You know .”
Summer whistled. “Wow, is it just me, or is she hot when she glares at you like that?”
“Do not call my roommate hot, Summer.” If his little sister hit on Thea…
“What did you do to make her glare like that?” she asked.
“Something stupid.”
“Obviously. It’s you .”
“Thanks, sis.”
Summer smiled and leaned against the fridge. “No prob, bro.”
“I said something last night that she took the wrong way.”
Summer hummed. “Seems more realistic that you said something wrong you didn’t mean to say. Not ‘she took it the wrong way.’”
“That too,” Draven grunted. “I was jealous, and I implied she would go back to her cheating ex.”
Summer stole the pen and a blank Post-it from Draven. He tried to retrieve it, but his little sister kicked him in the thigh, and he lurched over. The masculine instinct to protect his balls gifted Summer enough time to write a note to Thea.
Thea read it and quirked an eyebrow. Then, she looked directly into Draven’s eyes and stopped glaring.
“Damn, Summer, how did you do that? Want to move in?” Draven joked before reading the note she wrote.
“ My brother says he was a dumb, jealous asshole and is sorry about hurting your feelings last night. He didn’t mean it .”
“Dammit!” Draven grabbed a fistful of his hair. “Offer revoked,” he told Summer. “What the hell? You just told her I was jealous.”
Summer flipped her blond hair over her shoulder and commented, “ Duh-doy . You just told me you were jealous.”
“Yeah, but she’s not supposed to know that.” Sweat broke out on the back of Draven’s neck. “She can’t know I’m into her.”
Thea moved around Summer to retrieve a bowl and her cereal box. Summer checked her out as she did; her gaze roamed up and down Thea’s body. “Why can’t she know you’re into her?”
“Because Wren said she is off-limits.”
“Why?” Summer asked.
“Because she is the best friend of his fiancé, and he thinks a rift between us will hurt his marriage, and he will have to kick me out of the band.”
“Why?”
“Summer,” Draven groaned.
“What?” Forgetting it was decaf, Summer lowered her mouth to the coffee cup once more to take another sip but spat it back out. “If she is the best friend, I assume you are both in the wedding parties?”
“Yes.”
“You’ll hook up at the wedding, then.”
“ What? ” Draven exclaimed.
“Oh, come on, people always hook up at weddings. I’m sure the vows, champagne, cake, and dancing will get you two so horny for each other that you hook up in a hotel room down the street or something.”
“What part of ‘Wren will kick me out of the band’ do you not understand?”
“You’re Draven Maxwell. Half of Medusa’s Tears fans are just women who go to see you shirtless. He can’t kick you out.”
“Judas Maximo said he has a replacement drummer all lined up.”
Summer’s green eyes widened, and her mouth formed a solemn “ O .” If Judas Maximo wanted Draven gone, he would be gone. Wren just had to give the green light.
“You shouldn’t pay for my school anymore,” Summer said softly.
“What?”
“If you lose the band, you won’t be able to pay for Mimi’s nursing home or me and Geo’s college. You shouldn’t have to pay for it to begin with. You are too generous with your money, Draven.”
Draven did not respond, but his tense shoulders and adamant expression said it all. He wanted to take care of his family—the way his parents had not taken care of him.
But he needed a new income stream fast. Medusa’s Tears would go on tour soon, but Judas made it clear Draven would not see a penny before then. He needed to verify everything was fully funded for the time he would be abroad, performing.
I guess I need to call my agent about that semi-nude photoshoot . He needed the money.
The kitchen was quiet as Thea sat on a barstool at the kitchen island and poured herself a bowl of cereal. Draven watched her as she lifted the spoon to her lips.
“I take it back,” Summer said. “You guys won’t hook up at the wedding. You’ll hook up before then.”