Chapter 40
CHAPTER 40
Rainey
“Spill,” Devyn commands.
You didn’t really think she’d let it slide, did you? I wasn’t surprised in the least when I found her waiting inside my apartment when I got home from work. Thank God I was alone.
“I don’t understand what the big deal is,” I say. “It’s completely casual and temporary .”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m going to call bullshit on that.”
I raise my eyebrows. Here’s the thing. Devyn rarely swears. And when I say rarely, I mean almost never . If she’s busting out the four-letter words, you know she means business.
“Can I at least shower and change before we have this conversation?”
“Go right ahead. Riley and Nate are having a daddy/son night, so I have plenty of time to wait.”
“Yay!” I cheer mockingly .
I get cleaned up and put on my proverbial big girl panties before joining her on the couch. As I sit, the light reflects off the shiny rock on her left hand.
I grab it. “What the hell? When did this happen?”
Her face morphs into a smile. “Last night after everyone left.”
“Oh, honey, I’m so happy for you.”
She points a stern finger at me. “A, thank you. B, you’re going to be my maid-of-honor whether you like it or not, and C, don’t think you’re getting out of this conversation about Brody.”
“I’d love to be your maid-of-honor, Dev.”
“Lorraine, quit stalling.”
Damn it.
I sigh. “What do you want to know?”
“When did this happen? How did it happen?”
“We kind of made an agreement the night he walked me home from Kelly’s.”
“ What kind of agreement?” she asks.
“Like a friends-with-benefits type of thing. No feelings, no complications, and no telling anyone else about it .”
Devyn smirks. “Well, that rule’s out the window.”
“You can’t say anything to anyone, Dev,” I plead. “Not even Riley.”
“Rainey…I can’t lie to him.”
“You don’t need to lie,” I insist. “Just don’t bring it up. Please , Devyn.”
Her face softens. “Fine. For now . But you need to give me an honest answer in return.”
“An answer to what?”
“Do you really think you can do this without feelings? Or complications for that matter? ”
“I don’t know,” I admit. “ But I’m trying . I had a few casual relationships in college that worked out just fine.”
Her eyes are screaming, are you stupid? “This isn’t the same, and you know that, Lorraine. You’ve known Brody for years. And he’s Drew and Riley’s best friend.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is that I know you understand how complicated this can get. Therefore, you wouldn’t jump into something like this blindly. If you only wanted sex, you would’ve found someone else. Anyone else . You can say ‘no feelings’ all you want, but we both know Brody’s already has had some feelings brewing for a long time. I don’t want to see either one of you get hurt.”
“Brody and I are both consenting adults,” I say. “If things start getting too intense, we’ll call it off and pretend like it never happened.”
“Lorra—”
I hold up my hand to cut her off. “No, Devyn, really. I know what I’m doing. Just please let it go. Not everyone is destined for a happily-ever-after like you and Rye.”
She smiles at the mention of his name. “Just promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“If you do need to talk to someone, please come to me.”
I pull her into a side hug. “I promise.”
“Okay, then I just have one more question.” I motion for her to continue. “How’s the sex?”
My body temperature rises just thinking about it. “ Incredible. I’ve never been with someone who makes me feel so wanton and wanted . And holy shit, the man has skills, Devyn. Major. Skills.”
She grins from ear to ear and holds her arms up in a touchdown pose. “I knew it! ”
“You knew what ?”
“That you and Brody would be hot in bed.”
I laugh. “You’ve given this some thought, huh?”
“Not in a creepy way,” she says. “But c’mon, Lorraine, the way he looks at you…the way he’s always looked at you…you could just tell it would be explosive once he finally got his hands on you.”
“Explosive is a good word for it.” I know I’m blushing, and I can’t do a damn thing to stop it. “Now, enough about my sex life. Since the boys are doing their thing, do you want to grab some dinner?”
There’s a knock on the door before she can answer.
“You expecting anyone, Rainey?”
“No.” I make my way across the open space and peek through the peephole. “Of course,” I mutter as I open the door.
Brody’s leaning on the doorframe. “Hi there.”
I pull the door closed a bit. “Hi. What are you doing here? Did we have plans I forgot about?”
He’s staring over my shoulder. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Um…yeah, I’m kind of tied up at the moment.”
He narrows his eyes. “Who’s in your apartment, Rainey?”
“Why does it matter, Brody ?”
He reaches over my head, pushes the door open, and steps inside.
“Hey!” I shout.
I quickly follow after him until he reaches the center of the main living area. The relief on his face is palpable when he sees the woman on the couch.
“Hey, Devyn,” he says.
“Hi, Brody. Fancy meeting you here. ”
I roll my eyes.
Devyn rises from the couch. “I was just leaving. You two kids have fun.”
“Dev, wait,” I say.
“I need to get going, Lorraine. Have an incredible night.”
Okay, I love that woman to death, but I kind of want to smack the smug smile off her face right now.