40. Gio
40
GIO
J uliet is eerily quiet as we drive back to Nolan’s house so he can shower in private—Nolan in Lex’s truck and Juliet in my Firebird. When we pull up to the single-story millhouse, Nolan gets out of the Firebird and heads up the front steps. I glance over to the passenger seat.
“Hey, you want to go get changed?” I offer. “We’re going to a party to celebrate the win. You’re gonna get cold if you stay like that.” I gesture to the basketball shorts and jersey she’s wearing.
Juliet gives me a look that says everything and nothing at all. As if she knows what’s going through my mind because, yeah, it’s not just the cold I’m worried about. Fact is, I don’t like that she’s wearing another guy's jersey—even if he’s already graduated.
In a blink, I can see her in my mind wearing my jersey and nothing else. Her long, toned legs parting as the blue and white fabric rides up. I shift against the seat and shut that shit down as soon as I realize what I’m doing. I really don’t want to get a hard-on here.
“Can I stay behind?” she asks, nodding to the house that’s illuminated by my headlights.
“No.”
She sighs and then nods. “Then, yeah, fine, I’ll get changed.”
I nod and shut off the engine, killing the lights as we both step out of the vehicle. Letting Juliet cross in front of me first and head for the front door, I wave over to Lex to let him know we’ll be back. He nods and lifts his phone, typing away on it—no doubt still managing to work even after a grueling game.
Together, Juliet and I head into Nolan’s house. The sound of squeaking pipes sending water through the walls echoes back as Nolan showers down the hall. “Grab a jacket too,” I tell her as she scurries towards the hall, but she’s already disappeared, ignoring me.
Shaking my head, I turn away from the hall towards the kitchen. Eliza, Nolan’s mom, usually keeps a couple of bottles of tequila under the sink when she’s had a rough day. I find them and the shot glasses. Pouring three shots, I take the first, wincing as the burn cuts down my throat like a knife.
“Jesus!” I mutter, but that’s cheap tequila for you. I pick up the second one before thinking better of it and setting it back down. Maybe I’ll pawn it off on Nolan or Lex. With Juliet hanging around, the likelihood of me actually getting laid tonight is low. I only really need to drink if I’m gonna fuck some chick to relieve the stress.
“Starting early?” Juliet’s voice comes from the kitchen’s open door. I grin and turn to face her as she steps into the darkened room.
My eyes trail down her body. The basketball shorts and jersey have been replaced by jeans and an oversized hoodie that all but swallows her up. Her blue hair has been tossed up into a messy bun and … did she wash her face? Her makeup is gone, and it’s only now that I realize the sound of water pumping through the pipes is gone. Nolan must be out of the shower.
I arch a brow. “I told you we were going to a party,” I remind her.
She frowns as she rounds the counter and stops next to me, her eyes on the two remaining shot glasses. “Yeah, I heard you the first time,” she replies. “Are you going to drink both of those?”
I ignore her question. “If you know that, then why aren’t you more dressed up?” I ask. “You took your makeup off.” There’s a vicious twist in my gut as I imagine her all dressed up, kitted out, and ready to seduce. “Have you given up on finding a rich sugar daddy to take you back to your rightful place?”
The look she sends me would burn me to a crisp if it had the ability. “I’m not looking to be rescued,” she snaps.
“No?” Shut up, G. Despite the internal command, I can’t seem to help myself. “Seems to me you could use a bit of rescuing. Why not get prettied up so you can find some knight that’ll take you under his wings and protect you from the big bad scorpions.”
“Maybe I’ll kiss a frog and he’ll turn into a prince,” she says in the same snide tone.
Why don’t you kiss me and find out, Prep Girl? I manage to keep the offer from falling off my tongue but just barely. The sight of her dressed in some other motherfucker’s number still has me riled and I need to calm down.
Juliet shakes her head and reaches for one of the last remaining shots. “Take your shot,” she tells me, lifting the glass.
“I didn’t say you could have it.” The words leave my lips as she puts the rim to her impossibly full lips and tips her head back in a quick jerk. The clear liquid disappears into her mouth and her throat works as she swallows it all down.
Fuck. Me.
When her head lowers back down, she grimaces and sets the now empty shot glass on the counter. “This needed salt,” she murmurs, “and a lime.”
My breath saws in and out of my chest as her pink tongue comes out and licks over her lower lip. A groan works its way up my throat and I squash the urge. Gulping it down hurts worse than the shitty tequila. What do those lips feel like? I wonder. How would they feel wrapped around my cock?
All thoughts of trying to keep my dick under control have fled and the rock-hard erection I’m sporting now tents my jeans. With gritted teeth, I fight for control, twisting away from her and gripping the edge of the counter until I swear I can hear the wood creak under my hold.
Deep breath in and exhale. I repeat the action, counting backward from ten and restarting when it doesn’t feel like enough time.
“ Gio .” The sharp snap of my name finally draws me out of my reverie and I turn to face Juliet once more, hoping she doesn’t notice what’s happening down below. Before she can, though, the sight of Nolan standing in the kitchen doorway makes my cock deflate in an instant.
“I can’t make it to the party,” Nolan says.
Juliet frowns. “What do you mean you can’t make it? That’s why we came back here.”
Nolan doesn’t bother to glance at her. His eyes are rooted squarely on me which means I should know why his plans have suddenly changed. I do. Only one person still alive can put that look on his face. Darrio. My father.
Without hesitating this time, I reach back, grab the last shot, and down it in one go. “I got it,” I tell him. “I’ll take care of her. Do what you gotta.”
“I’m taking Lex with me,” Nolan says.
That’s unusual. I glance over my shoulder. “Do you need me?” As much as I’d love a good after party, not fucking around with Juliet there dampens the fun of it, and with both of the guys off on some job for my dad, I’ll be too busy thinking about what the old man is planning to do much partying.
“Wait a second, hold up!” Juliet gapes between us. “What the hell is going on? Where are you going?”
“Don’t worry about it,” Nolan tells her before redirecting his attention to me. “I don’t think I’ll need you, but keep your phone on you, and G?”
I tense. “Yeah?”
He nods to the glasses at my back. “If you’re driving anywhere else tonight, let that be your last shot. I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
I hear what he doesn’t say—if I get pulled over with alcohol in my system, he doesn’t know when he or Lex will be back to get me out. I nod my understanding and with that, he’s gone—heading out the door as Juliet stares after him.
“Where is he going?” she finally asks, turning back to me.
I pick up the empty glasses and dump them in the sink. “Work,” is all I say as I rinse them and lay them upside down on the drying rack.
“The garage isn’t open this time of night.”
Slowly, I turn around and raise both brows at her. She’s not a stupid girl and I damn well know that when she was hanging out on the north side of Silverwood with all of her rich, preppy friends, she’d seen the evidence of our side hustle. Our main jobs as my dad would put it.
Her lips press together and dip into a frown. “You’re still dealing?”
“Never stopped.” Can’t stop … even if we want to. Not yet.
I slip past her in time to see Lex’s truck back out of the driveway. I watch them go. Is there really any point in going to the party now if they’re not going to be there?
Damn my father. Why tonight of all nights? He hadn’t even bothered to show up for the game and then he pulls both Nolan and Lex into a job but not me. I should be grateful he waited, at least, until after the game was over. My hands clench into fists at my sides as I stare through the front window into the empty street. I’m not going home tonight.
“If we’re not going to the party now, I’m gonna go take a shower and change for bed,” Juliet says at my back.
She doesn’t wait for me to respond but disappears down the hallway towards the lone bathroom. The sound of the door shutting a moment later echoes through the house. I wait a beat more until the pipes start to clang with fresh water sliding through them yet again. Then I lean down and lock the front door before heading back into the kitchen.
Grabbing two of the still-wet shot glasses and one of the tequila bottles from under the sink, I follow the same path and end up in Nolan’s room. Much like my own, his room is almost utilitarian in its sparseness. The only difference is the fresh scent of shampoo and soap lingering in the air—as well as the open duffle bag full of Juliet’s clothes.
I wonder if Eliza knows she’s been housing Silverwood Public's enemy number one. She hardly ever sees Nolan because of her constant night shift duties. It’s convenient even if it’s a bit depressing.
I take a seat on Nolan’s bed and kick off my shoes. The tequila bottle meets the TV tray nightstand and the shot glasses settle right next to it. I close my eyes and lean my head back against the wall, the soreness of my limbs from the effort of the game slipping deeper into my bones.
For once, it’s not Lex or Nolan with her. But me. Alone. With Juliet Donovan.
Fifteen minutes later, the door to the bedroom creaks open. “What are you still doing here?” Juliet asks.
I open my eyes to find her dressed in a pair of sweats and a tanktop with her hands toweling off the extra moisture from her hair as it cascades around her shoulders.
“Can’t leave you alone, now, can I?” I shoot back.
She snorts but comes in and marches over to her duffle. Dropping what I assume were the clothes she’d been wearing earlier on top, Juliet turns to me and lets the towel just hang from her shoulders. “Are you staying the night then?” Her tone is resigned when I expected a fight.
Frowning, I reach for the tequila. “You impressed me with how well you took that first shot,” I say instead of answering her question. “I thought I’d find out how well you can take another.”
She hums in the back of her throat, one brow arching up over those glittering blue eyes of hers. I’m like a starving man dragging himself, inch by inch, towards an oasis. She’s the water I so desperately need. Without it, I might die.
“Come on,” I wheedle, shaking the bottle at her. “How about a game of truth or dare?”
Her eyes sharpen on me and she edges closer. I can tell what she’s thinking as if it were written on her face. She wants answers—answers none of us have bothered to give her yet, and if she plays with me, she might just get them. I can’t contain my smile.
Oh, poor little Prep Girl. I’ve got you now, don’t I? Even an ex-queen can’t help but fall for the illusion of control.
“You’re not afraid to lose?” she taunts, reaching for the bottle.
I watch her as she twists off the cap and then sets it on the TV tray. “Not at all.”
She’s so close I can see the outline of her nipples through the thin fabric of her tanktop. They’re pebbled against the surface, just begging for someone to lick them, suck them. Nolan and Lex both had their time with her. Now, it’s my turn.
Juliet pours two shots before setting the tequila down and picking one up. The next thing I know, she’s shoving my legs to the side and crawling past me until she’s resting with her back against the only other wall that touches the mattress. A low chuckle rumbles up my throat.
“Alright, Gio,” she says, a challenge in her tone. “Truth? Or Dare?”