Something for the Pain (Pain #2) (4 page)

He picks up a strand of my hair and examines it. “Your hair has always reminded me of a shiny new penny with all the copper tones in it. Even under all that brown and copper though, there has always been red in your hair. You can only really see it in the sun though. I like it. And plus, your face always turns all red when I tease you. You’ll always be my firecracker.”

I shake my head and roll my eyes. “Oh yeah. Why don’t you just write a song about it.” I tease. “That sounded pretty deep coming from
your
mouth.”

He follows me down the hall toward the stairs. “Maybe I will. You know I still play my guitar each night. I can’t write songs for shit but for you I would try.”

I stop and he does the same. I look him up and down, standing there shirtless and wet as I try to hold back my desire to kiss him. Our eyes meet for a split second before I pull myself out of my trance, clear my throat, and reach for the railing. “Alright,” I say, changing the subject and my thought process. “Well, there are two rooms upstairs,” I continue, as he follows me up with his hands on my hips for support. “The other one is downstairs and down the hall from the pool and rec room.”

We stop in front of the first door and I reach for the handle, but then stop and smile at him. “This one . . . is
not
your room.” I head for the back of the hall and his smile broadens, because he loves being teased. “This here is your room.”

He walks past me and pushes the door open. His eyes widen as he takes in the sight before him. “Wow! Did you do all of this?”

He walks over to the wall by the window and touches one of his own favorite drawings that I attempted to paint. Yesterday, I spent the whole day painting music notes and some of his drawings onto the back wall of his room. I even brought his favorite plush pillow that he leaves at my aunt’s house so he can sit on it whenever he plays his guitar for me.

“Yeah. I just thought it would be a nice spot for you to have to play your guitar.” I walk over and open the window. “You can sit here with the window open and play for the cars passing by.”

I plop down onto his pillow—chair—thing. I’m really not sure what to call it. It’s not really any of the above, but a mixture. “Like how you used to when we were teenagers. Do you remember? Right before your mom . . .” I stop myself and clear my throat. “I remember you sitting on your screened in porch by the window, playing all night. I would sometimes drive over late at night just to listen to you play. It helped me sleep better. Actually, you were sitting in that same spot, attempting to play Memphis’ guitar the day we met. Remember?”

He smiles to himself and then grabs my hand to help me to my feet. “Of course I remember that shit.”

He plops down on his huge pillow and pulls me down onto his lap, and then adjusts me to make sure I’m comfortable before speaking. “I was sitting there playing the guitar and I was so pissed off because I kept messing up, so I decided to quit. Then I heard a little voice coming from outside the window say something like, “Please play some more.” I looked out and there you were; the cutest little girl with a penny colored ponytail. It was the shiniest damn hair I had ever seen. My father was gone . . . at work, so I played some more.”

We both laugh as he wraps his arms around my waist and squeezes. “Is that your room down the hall?” He asks with a hint of humor.

I lean my head against his shoulder and smile. “Yes. You know I have to be upstairs. We even get to share a connecting bathroom.” I point to the bathroom door. “That leads into the bathroom and my room is on the other side. We’ll just have to be sure to lock both doors so we know when the other is using it.”

He brushes my hair out of the way before resting his scruffy chin on my shoulder. “Why did you choose for my room to be upstairs instead of Lucas’?”

I twist my neck back to look at him. “Because it reminds me of when we were kids and you used to climb through my window. Hell, I still catch you climbing through my bedroom window instead of using the door. You know Tara doesn’t mind you coming over whenever you want. We are
adults
now.”

We both stop laughing and look up when we hear footsteps enter the room.

Lucas looks down at us and flashes a half smile. “You two having fun without me?”

I feel Alex stiffen beneath me, and then he helps me to my feet before getting up as well.

“Lucas,” Alex mutters while pushing the pillow back against the wall. “We were just breaking in my room.”

I shake my head and laugh while giving Alex a light shove. I know that it doesn’t bother Lucas, but sometimes I wonder why he makes those kinds of jokes so often. “Shut up, dick-lick.”

Lucas brushes his blonde hair out of his face and nods his head at me with a chuckle. “Dick-lick?” He raises an eyebrow and heads for the door. “That’s a new one.” He stops in the doorway and waits for us to join him. “I see you guys have already taken a dip in the pool. I’m also guessing that she’s talked you into saying yes?”

Alex runs his tongue over his bottom lip and nods his head as if trying to hold something back. “Do you even have to ask?” He turns to me and gives me a kiss on the forehead before his gray eyes find mine. “I should grab my shit and get going. I need to be at
Ravage
for an appointment soon.”

“See ya later, man,” Lucas says while pounding his fist with Alex’s. “We’ll be moving some of our stuff in over the weekend. I’m sure Tripp will fill you in on the rest of the details later. Cool?”

Alex nods his head and starts backing up. “Sure thing.” He turns back to me and winks. “Talk to ya later, Firecracker.”

“I’ll call you in a few hours,” I say in response, ignoring his silly nickname for me.

Lucas watches as he walks down the stairs before turning back to me and pulling me against him. He presses his lips against mine and grips my ass in his hands. “You look so damn sexy wet. I hope you’re in the mood, because I can’t help myself right now.”

He kisses me again before licking his lips and pulling away. “I told you he’d agree to move in. I just hope he doesn’t mind us having a little fun once in a while. I’m not going to hold back just because he’ll be living here too.”

I let out a little breath and force a smile. “He’ll be fine. I’m sure he’ll have a ton of girls over anyways. He will hardly even notice.”

Saying the words out loud only makes my heart ache.

“Yeah. Well who knows, maybe he will share with us. I don’t mind sharing.”

I let out a nervous laugh and try to hide the fact that for some reason that bothers me.

“Maybe,” I whisper.

Maybe I want him all to myself . . .

IT’S BEEN FIVE DAYS
SINCE
Tripp asked me to move in with her and Lucas. I should have been moved in days ago, but the truth is my head is still reeling from our conversation at the bar. That and the fact that I have been extremely busy, working my ass off here at
Ravage.
I’ve been lucky to have any amount of free time in between my endless appointments.

“Hey dude. Alex,” Ace calls out, probably from the gaming couch.

“Yeah, man?” I smile down at the sexy brunette in my chair as I hand her the mirror, allowing her to check out the dandelion I just placed below her right collarbone.

“Your girlfriend is here to see you,” he replies with a hint of laughter. “She’s looking damn fine too, so you better hurry your ass up.” I hear him whisper, “Damn,” as her footsteps start heading toward my door.

Everyone at the shop knows she’s not my girlfriend, but after months of everyone calling her that, we have both given up on correcting them. It’s not like it really bothers me anyways. If I were to ever have a girlfriend, Tripp would be the perfect one for the role; the only one able to capture my balls and lure me in, so fuck it.

Sliding my chair back, I look up to see Tripp appear in the doorway with a half-smile, dressed in another damn dress.
Fuck, those dresses do me in.
She glances down at the brunette that now seems to be glaring at me, looking jealous.

She gives me a knowing look. “Nice tattoo,” Tripp confirms as the girl looks between Tripp and I, trying to get a read.

“Thanks,” she says with a sneer, before looking at me. “I didn’t realize you had a girlfriend.” She stands from the chair and walks over to stand in front of me. “I’ve been hearing some things about you and I was
hoping
we could hang out sometime. I just assumed you were single from all the talk.”

Before I can say anything, Tripp walks over to the chair and takes a seat, slapping the brunette on the ass. The girl seems surprised, but this chick never fails to surprise me. She’s definitely something else. “He doesn’t.” She grabs the girl’s arm and pulls her down so that her lips are close to the girl’s ear. “And I can confirm that
everything
you’ve heard about this stud is true.”

Tripp leans in closer, brushing her lips under her ear as the brunette lifts an eyebrow, her interest piqued once again. “Trust me,” she whispers.

The brunette now looks back at me with a playful smile, looking hopeful once again. “I see,” she says sweetly. “That’s perfect.”

“We’re having a party tonight at our place,” Tripp says proudly. “Ask Ace to hook you up with the address. It’s not far from here.”

“I’ll definitely be there.” She looks me up and down, admiring my body before saying, “The name is Mel by the way.”

Tripp winks at me before smiling up at Mel. “We’ll see you around eight, Mel. Don’t keep my guy over here waiting for too long. The other girls will swoop in and take your place if they see the opportunity.”

Mel looks a little nervous, before shaking it off and smiling. “Oh, I won’t be late.” She starts backing up toward the door while biting her bottom lip. “I’ll see ya then, Alex.”

Shaking my head, I look to Tripp and smirk as Mel turns around and exits the room. I somehow find what she just did to be extremely hot. “What was all that shit about?”

She shrugs her shoulders before reaching in her purse and pulling out a sandwich, tossing it to me. “I was just being your wingman . . . or would it be wingwoman?” She raises an eyebrow in thought, grinning from ear to ear.

I reply to her while unwrapping my ham and cheese sandwich and taking a bite. “You really are something else. She would’ve came home with me no matter what. You know that, right?”

“Of course,” she says in a high-pitched voice. “But I owe you for agreeing to move in with us. I had to make sure it was a done deal.” She jumps up from the chair and wraps her arms around my neck. “I’ve been settled in for three days now. You need to hurry up and move in. I won’t be excited until I see your stuff show up. I want you to call this place home. You promised me.”

I run my hands up her arms before pulling them away and pushing her toward the door, pinning her up against it. I look her in the eyes so she can see the truth in them. “You know I’ll be there. Just give me a few hours. I have two more appointments and then I’m out. I promise, Tripp. Never question that.”

“Alright,” she says with a nervous smile. She places her hands on my chest and looks down at them before looking back up at my face. “I’ll be home setting up for the party. It’s going to be a blast. I promise.” She removes her hands and sucks her bottom lip into her mouth. “Later, Stud.”

I smile at her and slap her ass as she turns around to leave. She lets out a small yelp and grabs her ass in surprise. I might have gotten a bit carried away and slapped it harder than planned. My bad.

“Ouch! That hurt.” She punches my arm. “Jerk. Take your aggression out on someone else.”

I back away and wink at her. “Just be glad it wasn’t during sex. That hurts a lot worse. Trust me.” I bite my bottom lip, as her face turns red. “Later, Firecracker.” I tease.

She says nothing more before disappearing out the door, leaving me alone in my thoughts. Hearing Ace hit on her on the way out almost tests me, but I keep my shit together.

Control. It’s all about control . . .