Page 61 of The Deals We Make
When I invited her to come to my room last night and she picked the guest room, I resigned myself to the idea that we should mend our friendship and move on.
Then, when we talked, we decided it was a one-night thing. Because nothing says getting someone out of your system like fucking them into next week.
And now… I know I need more of Calista Moray, because whatever the fuck was simmering between us has not burned out yet.
As I drink the coffee, I realize my brain is fully recharged like it always is after I’ve finally slept. All the things I’ve been struggling to get my head around for the club become clear.
I need to check in on all the investments I’m running for people. And I should make a little update for Avery that she can understand and see how her money is growing after only a week.
When I’m caught up on all that, I’m gonna see Calista and persuade her we should do last night all over again.
“Ah, shit,” I say to my reflection. I promised Switch I’d go with him and Sophia to see Alessio today. The last thing I need is the hour ride into the city. You’d think people living in New Jersey and New York would be used to driving in the snow, but the highway brings out a certain kind of asshole driver.
I shovel a peanut butter–coated bagel down and then hop into the shower.
My mind drifts to the way Calista felt on top of me, all up in my space. Everything between us aligned in a way that was as natural as it was perfect. Maybe there’s a reason why I never saw the potential of that when we were teens. Maybe we just weren’t ready for who we’d be together.
And it makes what I’m going to do today even more important. Because I’m terrified that when I dig into what is happening to Alessio, I’m going to find Calista’s fingerprints all over it.
Common sense tells me I should just ask.
Like a mature fucking adult.
And yet, I can’t bring myself to. First, it would destroy the fledgling peace building between us. If she isn’t responsible, it will trigger everything she just told me last night. It would build distrust between us. Second, she could lie to me, tell me she isn’t responsible, and then, I’ll be forced to confront her when I find out she is. And third, which I guess is the toughest question: Would it matter if she is?
It would matter to my club, for sure. They’re building an alliance with Alessio, which would be threatened if I made Calista my old lady, which?—
“Whoa!”
I need to calm my fucking thoughts. One night of great sex does not an old lady make.
But is it really such a leap? The story of us began more than two decades ago, when she climbed into the car next to me on my very first day in the neighborhood.
She was all curiosity and braces.
And wouldn’t stop asking me questions while I was trying to finish the chapter.
I jump in the truck and head over to Bates’s house. When I get there, my brother opens the door wide. “Just brewed coffee. You want some?” he asks as I shrug out of my jacket and hang it on the hook by the front door.
I spot Avery as she runs towards us from the kitchen.
“Would love some, but I came by to see Avery. We have investments to discuss.”
“Uncle Vex,” she says, throwing her arms around me. “Did I make enough money to buy a clubhouse yet?”
Bates’s eyebrows almost hit his hairline. “What?”
I pick Avery up. Vi says we’re coddling her, but Avery doesn’t seem to care. “Did you tell your dad what you want to do with your money?”
She shakes her head.
“I thought you were saving for a dog,” he says.
Avery giggles. “I’m saving to buy my own bike and build my own clubhouse where girls can make boys leave when they have important conversations and girls make all the rules.”
Bates shakes his head. “Clubs are more than that.”
“I know, Daddy. Auntie Cat is helping me make a…umm…it begins with a ‘ch’ sound. Like, what we stand for.”
