Page 25 of Stuck with my Frenemy
“Bern, head out to my place, we’re taking the girls with us until we get some damn answers,” Ash grumbled, and in that moment, I had no idea why Ebony liked him because he seemed like such a grumpyass old man.
Oh. I get it. Old Ebs and old grumpyass Ash. The perfect pair.
“Cool. Answers are my specialty.” I chirped. Leaning toward Ebony, I reached over and pinched her arm so she swatted at me.
Bernie took off that moment luckily, pulling away from the warehouse and onto the street like we were being chased. All I could think was, good thing I wasn’t on the back of Ebony’s motorcycle because hell no on that one, thank you very much.
“What the fuck Cherry?” Her tone told me she wasn’t in the mood to play, so I guessed I’d be doing all the talking. And that meant I needed to get Ash to shut up and Bernie to gab.
Easy peasy lemon squeezy.
“So, Bernie. When you were carrying me”—Wedging my arms on the back of his seat, I peeked around the middle so I was way too close to him— “I couldn’t help but notice those large biceps of yours. Do you work out?”
A grin the size of Texas spread across his lips, and he focused on me instead of the road. “Oh, yeah. Four days a week as a matter of fact.”
Squeezing said bicep, I squealed. “Oooooh, I just knew it. Hot and muscled. What a catch.” Pulling my hand back, I fanned myself, but then I jumped out of my skin when a horn blared like it was right next to my ear.
“Watch the fucking road, Bernie. Quit leering at the blonde.” Ash let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “Okay, no more talking until we get to our destination.”
“And where would that be?” I asked, batting my eyelashes, a move Bernie didn’t miss since his eyes kept gravitating to me. My heart fluttered in my chest. My reactions to him really made little sense, but what could I say? Mancandy turned me into a hormonal monster.
“Pretty sure I just said no more talking, didn’t I?”
“Don’t fucking talk to her like that,” Ebony snapped at him, sitting ramrod straight and glaring even harder at Ash. “She asked a question, so answer it.”
“Or what? You’ll act like an animal again?” Ash asked, his tone mocking.
I sat back, stretching my legs as far as I could in front of me. “Actually, she does that super good. Did you see that whole display back there? Wild animal at its finest.”
“Shut up, Cherry.” Ebony pointed her scowl at me, and I didn’t like that look one bit.
“But you just told him I could talk.”
Ash and Ebony growled at the same time, and Bernie and I laughed like two idiots watching elephants try to fit in a doghouse. What a foursome we were.
“We are here,” Bernie said after a good half an hour after, and excitement fizzled through me until I was bouncing in my seat. I had no idea where “here” was, but I couldn’t wait to find out.
“What are you doing,” Ebony hissed at me in a whisper.
Shrugging, I punched the back of Bernie’s seat. “Waaaaaaaahhhh!”
“We’re back to being a ninja?” Ebony rolled her eyes and looked out the window.
I grinned in reply and took in the building as hottie turned into an underground garage of a building. It was big, maybe six stories, maybe ten—truth be told I wasn’t great at eyeing these types of things—and a pretty light-red brick. Flowers decorated the apartment complex, and it looked more like a senior community than somewhere either of the guys in this car might live.
“How old are you, Ash,” I questioned, angling my head at his back.
He didn’t even turn around to reply. “Thirty-six.”
“So definitely not a grumpy old man,” I blurted, but I actually wished I hadn’t said those words. And that was pretty much a first.
“Huh?”
“Just ignore her, park, and let’s move inside.” Ebony got down to business, keeping things professional. That was good. Honestly, I wasn’t looking forward to whatever conversation we were about to have in whoever’s apartment it was.
Bernie parked in an opening between two other cars, and we all spilled out the moment he killed the engine. Ebony and I followed the guys into an entrance leading to a lobby that was pretty small and unimportant looking before we found the elevators and waited until it dinged to announce its arrival. We piled in, and I found out there were more like 18 floors as we were headed to the top, much to my surprise.
Very cool.
