Page 24 of Get Even

“Watch it, bitch.” Taylor hissed and I rolled my eyes.

“You grabbed me,” I raised an eyebrow and Taylor chewed frantically on the gum in her mouth, the wet sound grating on my nerves.

“This is your fault. Aaron won’t even speak to me while he’s chasing your golden fucking pussy,” Taylor’s blue eyes darted about and I blew out a low breath. What the fuck had she taken? “Watch your fucking back.”

I raised my hands placatingly but my voice was ice cold, “You can have him, you deserve each other. Stay out of my way and I’ll stay out of yours.” I quickly brushed past her, ignoring the hand she swept out in an effort to claw my face off. Well, at least she had distracted me from my nerves even if she was acting totally unhinged. I hurried away and didn’t look back as I heard her continue to rant and rave in the middle of the pathway through the trees.

I drew close to Ryan’s and texted him to say I was nearly outside, not wanting to get stuck in one place if Taylor decided to follow me, and he sent me a thumbs up that I spent too long staring at as I wondered what was about to go down.

I wasn’t sure what Ryan’s idea of revenge was going to look like – did he want to trash Aaron’s room? Fill it with foam? The truth was, I didn’t know Ryan that well yet and wasn’t sure how his brain worked.

But just in case his head worked anything close to how mine did, I’d dressed nicely. My bra and panties were a red lacy set that matched my nails, and I’d shaved. Everywhere.

Ry pulled open the door after a couple of seconds and my brain short circuited at the amount of skin on display. Maybe Ryan’s idea of revenge wasn’t so far from my own at all.

“Hey,” he said, sweet grin completely at odds with the sinfulness that was Ryan Sommers shirtless. Like, I’d known he was ripped –he was co-captain of the football team and they had a pretty strict workout regimen – but the way the muscles of his skin bunched and relaxed as he led me inside and closed the door behind me had my mind whirling with possibility.

“Hi,” I said finally, licking my lips. It was weird being here with just Ryan. More often than not Aaron had come to my place but we’d still spent a fair amount of time together here, occasionally with his roommates. Two of which I’d now slept with and the third… well, we’d see.

“Drink?” Ryan called as he strode to their communal kitchen with me on his heels.

“Tequila?” I muttered and Ryan poked his head back out of the kitchen, nearly colliding with me and I swallowed hard as I took a step back.

“What?”

“Oh, just water please.”

“Sure,’’ he said with a smile and I couldn’t keep my eyes above his waist as he turned to grab a glass from the top cupboard, stretching upwards, and I bit my lip. Things had always been a little strained between me and Ryan in the past – at least on my side anyway. He was unfairly attractive and he wasfunny.Most of Aaron’s friends were either druggies or jocks more interested in sports than talking with their captain’s girlfriend. Then I’d met Ryan.

I’d expected about as much from him as I had Aaron’s other team mates. So when he’d made me laugh at Aaron’s expense the first time we’d been introduced I’d slapped a shocked hand over my mouth and Aaron had glared first at me and then at Ryan. I’d opted to stay clear of him from that moment on. Yet here we were, alone in the house Ry shared with my ex-boyfriend. It was like the past and the present were colliding in a way that made it impossible to deny my attraction any longer.

I mean, sure, there was the odd time when Ry’s face may have replaced the faceless fantasy guy’s when I’d been busy with my vibrator – but we couldn’t control our fantasies, right? Plus, I’d never acted on them. Unlike Aaron, I wasn’t a cheater and I didn’t really see the issue with being attracted to someone else, we all had little crushes from time to time. Though admittedly, I hadn’t expected Aaron’s crush to be on my best friend. Asshole.

Ryan handed me my water and I nodded in thanks, gaze drawn to the water dotting his flat stomach and the dark hair on his chest. He noticed my gaze and cursed when he glanced down, “I don’t know how I do it, I swear I can’t use a sink without spraying the water everywhere.”

I gave a laugh that sounded strangled as he wiped himself down with the towel, coasting it along the hard lines until my tongue felt too big for my mouth and my throat too dry. I took a sip from my water as I watched him, practically draining the glass. I wasn’t vain. Ryan simply looked that good.

Wait.

I glanced up and found Ryan’s eyes on me, a small smirk playing around his mouth and he bit his bottom lip when our eyes met.

“What are you doing?” I rasped.

“I don’t know what you mean,” he said, throwing the towel back into the kitchen and folding his arms across his chest. He grinned when my eyes dropped to his biceps.

“What am I doing here, Ry?” I asked, trying to distract myself and stop my hormones from taking over as I set my glass down on the breakfast bar.

“I told you, revenge,” he said it so matter of factly that I laughed.

“That kind of encompasses a lot and I’m really not down for murder. Orange is not my color.”

He grinned broadly, his eyes soft and warm as he took in my tight jeans and lacy vest top. “I was thinking something a little less bloody, though I’m hoping that you’ll still be screaming.”

Was that hot or creepy?Yes, I decided. Ryan’s low-slung jeans, balancing precariously on his hips, and happy trail leading somewhere very interesting were probably largely to blame for that thought process.

“That’s a little cocky,” I said, stepping closer, “the only one I remember coming close to screaming recently is you.”

I saw the deep breath he took and was relieved when he moved toward me, the skin of his chest brushing against my top. “Well, maybe we should rectify that.”

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