21 Days

  “What did he say?” Gaby asked with a laugh as she popped a grape in her mouth. “I still can’t believe you didn’t come back and get us that night … so we could watch too!”

  “Gabs!” Shelly yelled at her as she playfully slapped her on the arm.

  “What?” Gaby asked mischievously. “I bet it was hot as hell.”

  “It was.” I smiled, gesturing toward her with my wine glass. “I still think about it sometimes.” I looked upward and pretended to be remembering the encounter, then I looked back at them with a grin. “I think he got excited thinking about me watching. He left before the movie was over to take a shower … Even though I could’ve sworn he’d just taken a shower before I got home.”

  “He probably needed a cold one,” Shelly said with a giggle.

  I smiled at the thought. Was it bad that it turned me on to think that I’d turned TJ on last night? I’d always thought he was hot, and had even imagined going out with him a few times over the years, but I was too worried about messing up our relationship. There weren’t many people in my life that I could trust and count on, but he was one of them. He was too important.

  “Other than you making him pop a boner, how’s the situation between the two of you now that he’s living here?” Gaby asked.

  “Really well,” I said with a shrug. “Surprisingly so … Usually he and I are arguing and stuff, but there hasn’t been any of that since he’s been here. We’re just two friends hanging out. It’s been pretty cool actually.”

  “That’s great!” Shelly said, then narrowed her eyes at me. “Any chance of you two moving beyond friendship?”

  “Yeah, Sash … You guys have plenty of sparks, you should act on it,” Gaby added with a wag of her eyebrows.

  “What? You two are nuts. You know that TJ and I are just friends,” I argued, taking a gulp of my wine.

  We’d had these conversations before, plenty of times, so why did the possibility of being with TJ sound so much more appealing this time?

  “Anyway,” I said, trying to deflect the conversation. “What ever happened with you and Brock, Gabs? Did you tell him yes?”

  “I did,” Gaby said, standing up to wiggle her hips and sitting back down with a laugh. “We’re going out next weekend.”

  “That’s great,” Shelly gushed. “Brock’s a great guy. I hope you guys have a good time … Are you sure you’re ready to forget about the possibility of something happening between you and Scott?”

  “Mmmm-hmmm. I think it will be fun to go out with Brock. I’m going to take it for what it is … a night out with a good-looking guy. We’ll see what happens.”

  “Absolutely,” I said with a grin. I lifted my glass and raised it. “To us. May we take opportunities when they arise.”

  “Here, here,” the girls said in unison, bringing their glasses in to meet mine for a toast.

  After we’d had a couple glasses, and had moved from cheese to Oreos, TJ walked in the door, splattered with paint.

  “TJ!” we all shouted excitedly, each of us feeling nice and buzzed.

  TJ cocked an eyebrow and grinned broadly as he took in the situation.

  “Hey, ladies, how’s it going?”

  Everyone started talking at once and I jumped up to run over and give him a hug. He held up his hands to stop me.

  “Careful, Red, I’m covered in paint.”

  I wrinkled my nose and shrugged, mumbling, “That’s okay,” before wrapping my arms around him anyway.

  He squeezed me gently, then pulled back and looked at my face. “Feeling good?” he asked, bringing his finger up to tap me on the nose.

  I grinned up at him. “Not as good as you feel.”

  That caused his eyebrows to go up, and I could tell I’d taken him off guard. I was beginning to think that he was as aware of me as I was of him.

  “I’m gonna go get cleaned up,” TJ said, backing away from me. “Then I’ll hang out in my room until Cal gets here.”

  The guys were meeting up to go to a fight that night. The way things were going here, there was a strong possibility that the girls would be passed out before they even left.

  I turned on some music and sat back down with Shelly and Gaby. When I realized after a few minutes that my glass was empty, I went to the kitchen to open another bottle. “We should play a game,” Shelly yelled from the living room.

  “Okay, what game?” I yelled back as I struggled with the cork.

  “How about Truth or Dare?” Gaby said loudly with a giggle. It was probably time to cut her off. If she was giggling and suggesting childish games, she must be drunk.

  I walked back in with the bottle and looked at them. They were both struggling to look serious, so I knew they were up to something, and it was probably something to do with me and TJ. Never one to back down from a challenge, I replied, “Sounds perfect.”

  “Who goes first?” I asked.

  “I will!” Gaby yelled, her hand raised as if she were in class.

  “Okay … Gaby, Truth or Dare?”

  “Dare.”

  “I dare you to kiss TJ,” Shelly said excitedly.

  “What?” Gaby and I both asked.

  This was not turning out quite how I’d imagined, but Shelly was grinning like the Mad Hatter.

  Gaby looked at me questioningly, but when I just shrugged, she walked toward the room TJ was staying in. Shelly and I trailed closely behind her. She knocked on the door and TJ said, “Come in.”

  He was sitting on the bed, fully dressed, his hair still wet from his shower, and reading a book.

  I blinked.

  “You read?” I blurted without thinking.

  TJ raised his eyebrow at me and asked dryly, “Are you surprised that I can?”

  “No,” I stuttered. “I didn’t mean that. I just didn’t realize you liked to … As a pastime I mean.”

  TJ put the book on the end table and looked at each of us warily.

  “What’s up?”

  “I’m gonna kiss you?” Gaby said eagerly.

  A little too eagerly for my taste.

  TJ grinned at her.

  “Is that right?”

  “We’re playing Truth or Dare,” I said sharply as way of explanation.

  TJ nodded, as if he saw grown women play Truth or Dare every day. He aimed his sexy grin at Gaby and crooked his finger at her. Gaby paused, then got up on the bed and crawled across it toward him, trying to look sexy, but blowing it when she started laughing. My mouth went dry when his eyes met mine, and I wondered if he wished it were me crawling toward him instead, because I was beginning to. He flicked his eyes back to Gaby, then made a show of kissing her passionately.

  I mean … Seriously, I think I came just from watching.

  He leaned in and started with just their lips touching, then his right hand came up behind her head and pulled her closer, while he placed his left hand on her face. I couldn’t see, but I imagined he was caressing her cheek. Then he turned his head and seemed to deepen the kiss. I started to feel a red hot lick of jealousy crawl up my spine as I watched, and just as I was about to whimper, he broke the kiss and leaned back with a cocky grin.

  “Wow,” Shelly said from behind me, mimicking my thoughts.

  “You’re really good at that,” I heard Gaby say.

  TJ looked at my face again, frowned at what he must have seen there, then stood up and held out a hand to help Gaby off the bed. I heard a knock at the door and spun to go answer it, eager to get away from TJ and my confusing reaction to seeing him kiss Gaby.

  I wanted to kick something. Preferably the two of them.

  I opened the door to see Cal standing there. I was about to say hi when I heard someone running behind me. I moved out of the way just as Shelly catapulted into his arms.

  “Hey, baby,” Shelly said before she smashed her lips to his.

  Cal stumbled back, but was able to right himself and carry her inside.

  “Whoa,” Cal exclaimed when Shelly let go of his mouth. “That’s qui
te a greeting. You drunk, sweetheart?”

  “Yeah,” Shelly admitted. “And, I may have gotten a little worked up from watching TJ and Gaby kiss.”

  “What?” Cal asked TJ, his dark eyes wide, as TJ walked into the room with Gaby trailing behind.

  “I’ll tell you in the car,” TJ responded as he put his wallet in his pocket.

  I walked passed them, not trusting myself to look TJ in the face, and kept walking until I was safely in my room. I needed to give myself a minute to calm down, and hopefully when I went back out, the guys would be gone. I heard Cal tell Shelly he’d pick her up later and figured the coast was almost clear, when TJ walked in.

  “You okay?” he asked as he came toward me.

  I swallowed the lump in my throat and plastered a smile on my face.

  “Yeah, of course. You guys have fun at the fight.”

  TJ stopped right in front of me.

  “You don’t have to lie to me, Red. I think it bothered you that I kissed Gaby, even though it was your game, not mine. I saw the expression on your face.” He leaned in closer. Close enough that I could feel his breath against my face, and I had to fist my hand to keep from reaching out. “I can admit that if the shoe was on the other foot, and you were kissing Scott, I wouldn’t like it either.”

  I pulled my eyes up to his and asked, “Why?”

  TJ’s eyes searched mine, and he looked like he was about to say something, but Cal yelled out, “Let’s go, man! The guys are waiting,” and the moment was gone.

  TJ sighed and said, “I’ll see you later,” before placing a kiss on my forehead and turning to leave with Cal.

  I waited a few seconds until I heard the door shut, then went out to join the girls.

  “What the hell was that?” I asked them when I walked into the living room.

  “What?” Gaby asked, “The kiss? It was just a game, Sasha, it’s not like it meant anything. Although, I have to say, TJ is a phenomenal kisser,” she added as she fanned herself.

  I turned my glare on Shelly, who held up her hands in surrender.

  “I just thought it would be funny, I didn’t know he’d go all ‘magic tongue man’ on her. Shit, Gabs, that was hot.”

  I threw up my hands at her comment, and she looked at me curiously.

  “We were just messing around, Sasha. Maybe you should ask yourself why you’re so mad that TJ kissed Gaby. Or are you mad because it wasn’t you kissing him?”

  Chapter 9 – TJ

  “She’s been avoiding me for the past two days,” I responded when Cal asked what was bugging me. We’d stopped by Scott’s after a job with Brock’s company downtown, because he and Cal had some business to take care of. I was just along for the ride.

  “Who?” Cal asked, running a hand through his dark hair.

  “Sasha,” I replied, absently tracing the condensation down Mountain Dew bottle. “Ever since I kissed Gaby.”

  “You what?” Scott practically yelled as he walked out of his office with a folder in his hand.

  I looked up at him, surprised at his tone.

  “It wasn’t a big deal. The girls were drinking and hanging out the night we went to the fight, and they pulled me into their game of Truth or Dare. I had to kiss Gaby.”

  “You had to kiss Gaby?” Scott asked again, his teeth clenched. I began to wonder if he’d started drinking before we’d arrived.

  “Yeah, like I said … Not a big deal. It was Gaby for Christ’s sake; it was for a laugh, nothing more. But it seemed to piss Sasha off. Like, really pissed. I haven’t seen her since, and I live in her house. I think she’s avoiding me,” I repeated.

  I’d gotten home after the fight and all of the girls had been passed out. Cal had to carry Shelly down to the car. I figured we’d just talk about it the next day, but Sasha was gone when I woke up, and we’d kept missing each other ever since. I wanted to talk about the look I’d seen on her face after that kiss. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear she was jealous. I wanted to know if I was right.

  “Was it a peck, or did you put your tongue in her mouth?” Scott asked angrily.

  I looked at him and started to say, “It was …” then I caught myself and had to ask, “What does it matter? Why are you getting so pissed about this? You almost seem jealous.”

  Scott just scowled, and crossed his arms. I had to struggle not to laugh. He was acting like a damn child.

  “I’m not,” he argued.

  Cal was staring at him, a weird expression on his face, then he seemed to make a decision and leaned in toward Scott.

  “Why don’t you tell us the truth, man?”

  Scott dropped his arms. “What are you talking about?” he asked warily.

  “About you and Gaby …”

  I looked from Cal to Scott, whose mouth was hanging open, my curiosity peaked.

  “I think I’m missing something,” I mumbled, but neither of them paid me any attention.

  “How do you know?” Scott asked, the scowl turning into a look of surprise.

  “Know what?” I asked, raising my voice to be heard.

  Cal turned his gaze to mine, jerking his thumb toward Scott and saying, “He and Gaby had sex.”

  Not what I was expecting to come out of his mouth … At all.

  “The fuck they did,” I said without thinking. “When?”

  “How do you know that, Cal?” Scott asked again, his tone stern.

  “Gaby told Shelly while we were figuring things out. She said you lost your virginity to each other on prom night.”

  My mind was reeling.

  “Prom night? Six fucking years ago?” I asked, my mind blown. “How the hell did that happen? And why the hell didn’t you say anything? Either of you?”

  Scott was still looking at Cal, his mouth drawn down into a frown.

  “Why did she tell after all these years?” Scott asked quietly, as if he were speaking to himself.

  “Why didn’t you?” Cal asked.

  Scott looked up at Cal and shrugged. “We made a pact. It was a one-time deal, and we weren’t going to tell anyone. We didn’t want to ruin our friendship, and we didn’t want to fuck up the group dynamic.”

  “But how the hell did it happen?” I implored. “You guys went to prom with two different people.”

  They finally took pity on me and explained that Gaby’s date had gotten persistent when she’d told him she didn’t want to get a room after prom, and Scott had come to her rescue. He’d ended up ditching his date to make sure Gaby was okay. They’d had some drinks and one thing had led to another.

  I just couldn’t believe that they’d kept it a secret all this time.

  “So … Do you have feelings for her or something?” I asked.

  “No, why? It was a long time ago,” Scott replied, the scowl back.

  “Because you seemed to get pretty jealous about that kiss, and you get mad every time Brock flirts with her. Is that why you never liked him? Because he likes Gaby?”

  “No. Stop,” Scott said, rubbing his hands over his face and taking a deep breath. “Look, I’m not jealous. Why would I be? It was a long time ago. Gaby and I are friends. Period. I’m engaged. You just took me off guard, that’s all.”

  I looked at him thoughtfully. Now that I knew about it, he and Gaby made perfect sense, and I would much rather see him with her than married to Victoria. I could see them being happy together. Maybe Scott just needed a little push, to see what he was missing … What he could have.

  “So, it won’t bother you to know that she’s going on a date with Brock this weekend?” I asked slyly.

  Scott’s eyes narrowed. He jumped up from the table and walked over to his liquor cabinet. I watched as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a drink. I looked over at Cal, who was watching Scott with a small smile on his face, and I knew he was picturing Scott with Gaby rather than Victoria, just like I was. All either of us wanted was for Scott to be happy, and we knew that there was no way he could be with a woman like Victoria.

/>   Why the hell didn’t he seem to realize it?

  Chapter 10 – Sasha

  Fuck. It had been a long day. I had a few listings that just would not move, and to make it worse, my father had called to say he’d be in town this weekend and wanted to meet for dinner. To top it all off, I’d been avoiding TJ since my stupid display of jealousy the other night. So, rather than being home in my pajamas, I was sitting in a bar with Clark. Clark was an ass. Hot, but an ass. And I really didn’t want to be here.

  I took a sip of my dirty martini and tried to focus on what he was saying.

  “I think I’ve got a line on the house on Spark Street. The wife loved it, she’s just got to convince the husband that it’s worth them going over budget,” Clark was saying as he signaled the waiter for another round.

  “No more for me,” I told the waiter before he could scurry off. “I’m gonna go after this one,” I said to Clark.

  He frowned and said, “Oh, I was thinking maybe we could go to your place.”

  Yeah, I knew he’d probably been hoping to get in my pants. His words just confirmed it.

  “Not tonight,” I replied. “I have a friend staying with me for a few weeks. It wouldn’t be appropriate.”

  “We could go to my place,” he offered.

  I hated it when they were persistent. It just came off as desperate.

  I didn’t do desperate.

  I shook my head. “No, I’m just going to go home. It’s been a long day.”

  Figuring it was better to leave now than wait, I stood up and placed some money on the table for my drinks. The last thing I wanted was to feel like I owed Clark anything.

  “Goodnight,” I said before I walked out. I saw Clark checking out the prospects at the bar and chuckled. At least he wasn’t too heartbroken over it.

  My drive home was quick, but I found myself lingering outside the door before going inside. I took a deep breath and told myself it was just TJ … We’d been through a lot over the last eight years, and everything was going to be fine. I wouldn’t let it be awkward.

  I let myself in and was mildly disappointed that he wasn’t sitting on the couch, watching a movie … or waiting for me.