Page 41 of Flaunt
I cringe.No. No, no, no.
“Banks,” Sara says, cooing my name like the sweet innocent angel she isn’t. “I was hoping we could have a conversation.”
“Well, I was hoping Jess wouldn’t find the chickens until I was home so I wouldn’t have to open the door. Tough luck for both of us.”
She rolls her eyes.There’s the Sara I know.
Maddox sets his beer down. “I’m going to cut the shit and get right to it.”
“You do that,” I say, steeling myself against whatever he’s going to ask of me.
“The rental Sara was going to move into is having logistical issues,” he says.
“You said that at dinner.”
“The tenant won’t move out, and the eviction will take anywhere from a week to three or four, probably.” Maddox takes a deep breath. “We were hoping you had a place Sara could stay.”
I hold my arms out and gesture around the house. “What’s wrong with here?”
He stares at me.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t know anything off the top of my head. I’ll ask Tasha. Maybe she knows something.”Keep playing oblivious, Banksy. Walk away …
Maddox doesn’t blink.
Slowly, I turn to Ashley. She’s staring at me too. Then I pivot to Sara. With one hand on her hip, she blows out a breath like I’m a fool.
“What? Why is everyone staring at me?Ididn’t kick her out.”I wasn’t fucking her either. Sadly.I shake my head and refocus. “I said I’ll ask around.”
“Banks,” Maddox says, sighing.
“What?”
No one speaks. No one moves. Not one of them does anything other than stare at me.
I gulp.They can’t seriously be thinking she can stay with me. It’s Sara.
Sara and Banks makes Sbanks, which is like Spanx, which means no one will be able to breathe because things will be so tight … No. Don’t think of Sara and tight in the same sentence.
This can’t happen.
Sara slowly makes her way across the living room. I’m not sure if she’s swinging her hips or if she always walks like that, but my eyes won’t detach from her midsection.
“Come on, Sparkles,” Sara says, smirking.
“Don’t start with that shit.”
She giggles.
Lord, help me.
My face heats as the reality of the situation bears down on me full force. Their stares. Their suppressed smiles. Their expectations.
No one has expectations of me. I work fucking hard to keep it that way. So why has that changed?
She grins, stopping just a few feet in front of me. “Breathe.”
I glance down. It’s impossible not to notice her cleavage pressed together by what looks like navy-blue lace beneath her shirt.
