Page 18 of Get Even

“Taylor either,” I admitted and then shrugged.

“I guess that means the deal still stands then,” I could hear the amusement in his voice without looking and suddenly the warmth of him at my side felt like more of a temptation than a comfort.

“Sure,” I said easily, clamping down on my emotions tightly, “but nothing has changed.”

“Right,” he agreed, nodding for emphasis as he moved in front of me and spun to face me as we walked. “Except that you want me.”

I snorted, “Cocky much?”

Ry’s blue eyes flicked over my shoulder and a grin tugged at his mouth, my stomach flipped uncomfortably as he stepped closer. “Not cocky, no. Just not an idiot.”

Then he kissed me. It was nothing like the teasing nips or the occasional chaste pecks he’d given me in coffee shops when we were on our public outings. No, this was sweeping, his arms full of me and my mouth full of him, his scent tangling with mine as his tongue swept across my tongue and a low groan rumbled out of him that I was seconds away from echoing when he pulled back.

“What–I–” I gaped at him, breathless and desperate not to show it as my thoughts fogged with the sweet, fruity scent of him. He let me slide from his arms slowly, as if reluctant and my brain took longer than it should have to find its footing again.Why did he do that? Did he want more? Did he wantme? My hands slid down across his chest as I jerked myself away, trying to ignore the feel of him under my fingers. Ryan bit down on one kiss-reddened lip and nodded behind me.

“Saw Brad and Cody over there,” he said and I swiveled my head around to look, disappointment crowding my insides when I spotted them walking just a little behind us in running gear. “We have to sell this, right?” I promptly shut the feeling down – this was what I wanted, why should I feel disappointed? I didn’t want to date Ryan fucking Sommers.But maybe you want to fuck him, a small voice taunted in my mind and I drained the last of my coffee in a huff, eager to wash the taste of him out of my mouth.

“You okay?” Ryan asked as I stomped over to a trash can and dumped the disposable cup. Other than the slight mussing of his hair where my hands had run through it, he looked entirely cool and collected and a burn of anger stung my skin as I flushed.

“Fine,” I bit out, unsure if I was angrier at myself or him and willing my stupid heart to slow down as the back of his hand brushed against mine while we walked.

“So, you and Liv,” Ryan started when the silence between us clearly stretched too taut for him and surprised me with his line of thinking, “you’re just friends?”

“Yes,” I said firmly. “Don’t let Taylor mess with your head.”

“I just didn’t know–”

“That I like girls too? Why? Is that a problem?” I couldn’t keep the snap from my voice, wishing I’d never bothered to get out of my bed today.

“No,” he said with a casual shrug. “I just thought it might be the sort of thing a fake-boyfriend might know about his fake-girlfriend.”

I relaxed fractionally, “You want to know about when I first got my period too?”

Ryan snorted, “I’d say you’re clearly not a morning person but it’s the afternoon.”

I chose not to answer, instead nudging us back in the direction ofCocoa & Rum,if Ryan had any hope of surviving the walk back to my apartment then I would need more caffeine. A lot of it. My phone buzzed and I glanced down at it long enough to see another notification tagging me in my own nude. I locked my phone again and let out a deep breath. Ryan, wisely, chose to remain quiet and I was grateful – mostly because I didn’tactuallywant him to hate me and he likely would if I had to hold a conversation right now. I had a bad tendency to say what I wanted and then obsess over it unhealthily later.

My fingers itched for my guitar, needing the cool slide of strings beneath my fingers, bruisingly pinching as I coaxed whatever pretty sounds I could make out of it with my limited skill. I needed to taste the lyrics on my tongue and fucking scream until I couldn’t remember Aaron or Taylor or my mom or the taste of Ryan still lingering in my mouth.

“Want me to send you a photo of Aaron’s busted mouth?” Ry said at last, eyes seeming darker now than they had been a moment ago, as if my anger upset him too.

I let a vicious smile sweep over my mouth as I laughed and nodded. Bastard.

CHAPTERNINE

BETTER NOW - POST MALONE

I was irritable.Usually I was pretty easy going, the exceptions being when I was PMSing, my mother called and… when I was frustrated. Sexually.Stupid fucking Ryan.

I attacked another piece of skirting with my paintbrush and Liv hummed to herself across the room where she was covering the sofa with sheets to protect it from spatter. I’d chosen the most violent shade of pink I could find for redecorating after seeing Ryan yesterday, still pissed off about the way things had gone down at the party the other night and then his unexpectedly movie-good kiss. Plus my thoughts had been swimming in endless circles about what Aaron had said to me at the party, which didn’t improve my mood any.

Aaron was an asshole. Had I just ignored that while we had been dating? Or was he usually just nicer around me?I huffed as I dipped my brush again.

In the end Liv had talked me down from the monstrous color, instead suggesting a much more refined and elegant shade of baby pink –orblush,as the tin claimed.

Liv winced as I slapped on more paint, clearly worrying about the hardwood flooring but I was pretty sure I’d managed to cover it all beneath me. Unfortunately, my foul mood couldn’t be solved quite so easily.

I had already used my vibrator twice and it had barely done anything to take the edge off, all I could think about was Ry’s stupid hands on my skin, the way he had tasted on my tongue. Maybe I had made a bigger mistake in not fucking him than I would have in sleeping with him. Did that even make sense? Was my brain so steeped in a sex-craze that it wasn’t even coherent anymore?

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