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FIFTEEN
TYLER
The first thingI notice when I wake up is how cold I am. I rub my eyes and look at the window, expecting to find it open but seeing it closed instead.
No, the lack of warmth is because I’m alone. There isn’t a smart-mouthed blonde in my bed, and for reasons beyond me, that upsets me. I kick off the blankets and get out of bed, pissed with myself.
“Get a grip,” I mumble.
Bypassing the bathroom, I head right for the kitchen. I turn on the coffee pot and settle in front of the sink before turning on the tap and splashing cold water on my face.
We got back from Mexico yesterday, and despite what happened between us, I’ve been radio silent. Gracie has called twice and texted more times than I want to count, but I haven’t been able to talk to her. Or more like I won’t let myself talk to her.
The way I’m feeling right now is exactly why we need to leave what happened in Mexico in Mexico. Gracie Hutton has started to get in my head, and I have to throw her out before it’s too late. Even if that hurts her. And me.
I curse under my breath when someone knocks at my front door. Considering there are only a handful of people who know where I live, this can either be good or really bad.
With a groan, I grab a dishtowel from the counter and wipe off my face before throwing it back and heading for the door. The knocking continues until I unlock the door and whip it open.
Adam grins at me, two coffees in his hands. “Knock knock, motherfucker.”
“What time is it?” I step to the side to let him in before closing the door. He walks inside and makes himself home on the couch.
“Ten. Here,” he says, handing me a coffee. “You look like shit.”
I glare at him but take the cup anyway. “Don’t show up unannounced next time, and I’ll try my hardest to look better for you.”
“Thanks, babe. I didn’t come here for pleasantries, though. Sorry to break it to you.”
I sit beside him on the couch. “Good. I’m not in the mood.”
He taps his fingers against his coffee cup and turns to me, all business. The swelling in his eye is still brutal, but it’s nothing compared to the bruising.
“I let you get off the plane without asking because I knew you would lie to me in front of everyone else. But as your best friend, I’m asking now. You and little H? You slept together, right?”
“Shit,” I mutter. My stomach twists.
“Yeah, I figured I was right. Now you need to explain to me how you were so fucking stupid before I do what Oakley is going to when he finds out about this,” he says. The disappointment in his eyes has me looking away.
“He’s not going to find out.”
Adam lets out a brash laugh. “You have more screws loose than I thought if you think he’s not going to eventually notice the same way I did that something is going on between you and his sister. You’re lucky he was too love drunk on his own girl to pay much attention to the two of you miscreants.”
“He won’t notice because I’m putting a stop to it. We agreed before we even started anything that this wouldn’t last past Mexico. I’m making good on it.”
He looks doubtful. “Gracie agreed to that?”
“She was the one who said we needed to stop.” And I ignored her and slept with her again anyway, blurring the lines she was trying to draw in the sand, and left her in the airport without a single answer to her questions.
“Huh.”
“Huh?” I echo. “What the hell does that mean?”
“You’re not blowing smoke up my ass right now?”
“No. What business do I have with an eighteen-year-old anyway? I’m sure if anyone else found out about this, they’d be calling me a fucking pervert right now.”
“You’re only three years older than her, but that’s beside the point. The point is that you and Gray can’t happen. It would ruin your relationship with Oakley. He would absolutely see it as a betrayal.”
