Page 96 of Two Guys, a Girl, and a Tripod

“Hey,” I whisper against her lips, “it’s ok. You don’t have to say or do anything you don’t want to.” I pull back again. “I just want you safe.”

Sophie sighs, closing her eyes again before turning away from me and out of my grasp. She rubs her hands over her sides, up and down her hips, and then spins to face me again.

“I don’t-” She groans and shakes her head. “I don’t talk about my ex a lot.” Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “I don’t know if it’s him,” she says hastily when she notices my frown. “But it- Well, it didn’t end well with him. I think maybe he’s trying to, I don’t know, get me back? Scare me?”

She groans again and turns her back, running her hands through her soft curls. I don’t move to close the distance between us. I don’t want to crowd her. My blood boils at the thought of someone–anyone–scaring her. What if he’s done worse in the past? Did she end it or did he? These questions and a million more fly through my head, but I won’t ask them. She let me reveal my secret when I was ready. I will to provide her with the same safe space.

“Sophie, it’s going to be ok. Let’s get ready for bed. Maybe put on a Disney movie or something to lighten the mood.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Her voice breaks on the last word.

I make an excuse not to immediately join Sophie in bed, saying I want to do some digging into the doorbell cam before a potential trail goes cold. After watching her snuggle beneath my blankets, I shut the door and head into my office. It only takes a few minutes to get into the system that I know will give me a backdoor into Sophie and Natalie’s doorbell cam. It’s not the kind of software everyone has access to. I wrote it specifically for Harp Solutions. If it wasn’t a matter of safety, I wouldn’t be using it outside of work.

Something’s wrong. Something’s off. There’s activity here that shouldn’t be there. Someone–and I’d bet my entire bank account that it wasn’t thegirls–has been logging in and removing footage, altering the notification settings and then returning them to the way they were before. But the changes and alterations are happening within minutes of each other. If itisSophie’s ex, he’s got help.

Taking a deep breath, I set about putting in some safety measures. Silent notifications to my phone, a way for me to view any and all footage because I’ll get sent backups every thirty seconds. Everything I can think of to give the girls the upper hand, I do. It won’t be enough, of course. If Sophie has a crazy ex-boyfriend out there trying to scare her, I worry he won’t stop until he does something truly drastic.

When I go back to my bedroom, Sophie is lying on her side, facing the door. Her hair is splayed out on the pillow behind her. Her eyes are closed and her breathing is steady. I lean against the doorway, watching her. There’s an angel sleeping between my sheets and I can’t wait to join her.

“That was Nat.” Sophie holds up her phone as she walks back into my bedroom, still wearing her cotton pajama shorts and tank top. We’ve spent the last hour in my bed, relaxing, talking, just being with each other. “The lock is fixed.”

“Good.” I follow her movements with my eyes, her bare feet sinking into the plush carpet as she approaches. Her hips sway softly with each step. “But I hope you don’t think you need to leave right this second.”

Sophie giggles and kneels on the bed before crawling to me. She places one arm on my other side so that she’s hovering over my torso and slowly lowers her lips to mine. Her nipples brush my bare chest.

“You think I’m gonna run away before I turn into a pumpkin?” she murmurs against my mouth.

I wrap my hands around her waist and pull her down, forcing her breasts up as they squish against me. With a grin, I nuzzle my nose against hers.

“It’s ten in the morning.”

“And I’m not Cinderella.”

“Can I still be Prince Charming?”

She pulls back and giggles.

“That was cheesy. You gotta work on that.”

“I’ll have my roommate teach me some new jokes.”

Just as I lift my head to kiss her, my phone rings. I close my eyes and groan, barely an inch from her lips. I recognize the ringtone.

“Do you have to get that?” Sophie whines.

“It’s my sister.” While Sophie shifts and lies next to me, I reach for the phone on my bedside table. “Hey, Raegan, everything ok?”

“Everything’s fine.” She laughs into the receiver. “Why do you think something’s wrong every time I call?”

“Because something usually is,” I grumble. “Or you need something.”

“Good to talk to you too. I do need something.” At least she’s upfront about it. “Brett and I are at an event up in Ojai. The girls are at a birthday party and Isla was supposed to pick them up, but she had to pick up a last minute-shift at work.”

“So you need Uncle Brody to come to the rescue,” I surmise with a nod.

“And maybe hang out until we get home?” I can hear the wince in her voice. “Shouldn’t be any later than three.”

“Wait, who has a birthday party on a Saturday morning? Why not the afternoon?”

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