Chapter 4
Holland
“You know you need to get a suit, right? Like a presentable one that doesn’t look like you got it when you were fifteen,”
my sister says in a smartass tone.
Rolling my eyes, I grab the old suit out of my closet and look it over.
“It’s not that bad,”
I say, not sure if I’m trying to convince her or myself.
Ellie scoffs.
“You’re kidding right? That thing would not fit you. You need a new one.”
She’s not wrong. This thing looks like it would fit a child, not a twenty-two-year-old man, but I don’t want to have to go out and buy a new one.
Money isn’t an issue here, but my distaste for shopping and trying things on is. I do look damn good in a suit though, so maybe it’s worth getting a new one.
“Can’t I just wear sweatpants?”
Ellie’s eyes widen in horror, and I have to resist the urge to laugh.
“To a wedding? How are we even related?”
she asks, hopping off my bed and heading for my door. I think I may have met her quota for annoyance today. She’s just so east to rile up.
“Gwen would kill you if you showed up to her wedding in sweatpants. Get a suit. You have like two weeks.”
With that, Ellie lets herself out of my room, leaving me alone with my too small suit.
Well, this is just great. The last thing I want to do is go out and get a new suit. I wonder if Logan and Mason already got theirs. We’re all groomsmen, and we were told to get black suits with some light blue flower thing for the pocket.
Ryker’s been keeping us updated on the wedding planning, and as expected, Gwen hasn’t really been high maintenance. She’s got a pretty laid-back personality, so that’s not surprising.
She was adamant about the light blue being their color scheme. Ryker didn’t really care about the colors, so he let her have it.
Pulling out my phone, I send a text to Mason and Logan, really hoping they haven’t gone and gotten their suits already.
The Elite Three ?
Me
Have you guys gotten suits for this thing yet?
Mason Howard
Yup, and I look hot.
Logan Steele
“This thing”. You mean the
wedding?
Mason Howard
Have you not gotten yours?
Me
...
Mason Howard
Bro… you know you got like
2 weeks, right?
Logan Steele
Monroe, Gwen’s gonna kill you
if you don’t have a suit.
Mason Howard
You should go to this place I
went in the city. Rupert’s on fifth.
There’s this hot chick who get’s
real handsy when she’s taking things
in, if you know what I mean. Seems
like she’d be into some freaky shit.
Me
What is wrong with you?
Logan Steele
Something is seriously messed
up in your head.
Mason Howard
Don’t hate me cuz you ain’t me.
Me
You’ve both been no
help. Thanks.
Tossing my phone onto the bed in annoyance, I grab a sweatshirt out of my closet and pull it on. Swiping my phone and my keys, I head downstairs and into the driveway where my Mustang sits.
I dread things like this, and I really don’t feel like going alone. Usually Ryker and I would do these things together, but he’s not here. Fuck him for graduating, honestly.
Starting the engine, I check my mirrors, and my eyes catch on a small figure across the street sitting on the screened in porch. The thing is heated so you can sit there all year round and look out at the snow falling outside, making it possible for Lainey to sit out there in the middle of January.
She’s reading a book, her dark hair sitting on the top of her head in a mess. She’s got one leg under her, and one pulled up against her.
Suddenly, I get an idea. A really, really shitty idea that in no way could ever be considered a good idea but for some reason I can’t seem to talk myself out of it. She’s totally going to hate this, but I can’t help myself.
I pull out of the driveway, pulling in front of Lainey and Ellie’s house. Rolling my window down, I call out to Lainey.
“Whatcha doin, Lainey Bug?”
I ask, knowing the name will piss her off, but I’m a prick, so I don’t care. She looks up from her book with a death glare, and those grey eyes make my cock stiffen. God damnit, Holland. Get yourself under control.
“What do you want, Monroe?”
Lainey asks, a bit of snark in her tone. God, she’s hot.
“Wanna go for a ride?”
I wink and Lainey rolls her eyes.
“With you? No,”
she deadpans, looking back down to her book. I shake my head, a smirk growing on my face.
“Come on, Barkley. I gotta get a suit for this wedding. Don’t make me go alone,”
I pout, my lip jutting out and everything. She doesn’t even look up.
“You haven’t gotten a suit for the wedding yet? You know you have like, two weeks, right?”
My eyes roll as my head falls back on the headrest in exasperation. Like I haven’t heard this already.
“No, I didn’t. I’ve been… distracted,”
I tell her, thinking about the recent weeks and how hard I’ve been working to get my body back in shape for this season. I haven’t really even thought about this wedding, which I guess is pretty shitty considering Ryker is my best friend.
“Distracted? By what?”
Lainey asks, finally looking back up from the book in her lap. I shake my head, not wanting to get into it.
“Will you just get in the damn car? I need someone to tell me which suit looks best on my figure,”
I tease, which causes Lainey’s nose to scrunch up in a way a rabbits would. Why does it make her look so damn cute though?
“Why don’t you have one of the guys go with you? Are they tired of you too?”
“Ha. Ha. No, they’re busy. Come on, do you want me to get on my knees and beg? I’ll get out right now and-”
Lainey stands abruptly, dropping her book on the chair and walking toward my car.
“Fine, I’ll go with you. Not because I want to, because I don’t, but so you don’t cause a scene in my front yard.”
She opens my passenger side door and slips in. The Ellington Dance Team sweatshirt she’s wearing is a bit oversized, and the jeans she’s got on are tight against her toned legs. She’s got no makeup on, making all of her natural features stand out.
The small freckle under her eye, the scar on her cheek from when we were twelve and she fell from the tree in my front yard and a stick cut her. She didn’t even cry. Just got up, dusted herself off, and got up to climb the damn tree again.
She’s always been tough, and that hasn’t changed a bit since we’ve gotten older. Lainey isn’t the type of girl to complain or make waves. She goes with the flow, but she’ll stand up for what she believes in and the people she cares about.
When we were in high school, Ellie was picked on by this one prick, Jameson Karrick. He’d harass her and make her feel uncomfortable. I’d knocked his head in a few times, but that didn’t seem to deter him from being a grade A jackass.
One day, Lainey had had enough of Karrick’s bullshit. She went right up to him without saying a word, punched him straight in the nose, shook off her hand, and walked away like it was the most normal thing in the world to punch someone in the face in the school hallway.
Of course, this led to a week suspension, but with her parents pretty much absent ninety nine percent of the time, there was no one there to yell at her or be disappointed in her.
My mom was always there for Lainey. Since her parents were always away, Lainey spent most of her time with a nanny, but my mom always made sure Lainey felt like she was part of the family.
It was normal for her to always be around hanging with Ellie. They’d always be off in Ellie’s room, painting their nails and watching stupid TV shows, staying up late giggling and keeping me up.
We’d always bicker because Lainey was a know-it-all, and she was always around in my space. Not much has changed since then. She’s still a know-it-all, and she’s still always in my space since her and Ellie live together, and across the street from the Elite mansion.
Only now, instead of annoying me, she turns me on without even trying. Without even knowing she affects me, and fuck. As hot as she is, Lainey Barkley kind of fucking scares me.