LOREN HALE
“Where’s Daisy?” Rose asks, strutting into the kitchen with Lily after they spent probably fifteen minutes together in the bathroom. Connor is right. I shouldn’t question these things. It’s Rose. She could’ve been asking Lily about sex, just overly concerned.
Connor dumps bacon into a bowl. Breakfast for dinner, Daisy’s choice for her going away party. “The garage,” he says. “Ryke went to check on her.”
I watch Lily approach me. Her gaze rakes me in a slow once-over, landing on my crotch. I don’t even think she realizes that she’s doing it. Which actually makes me smile. She stops a foot from me, hesitating.
Screw that. I hook my fingers in the band of her leggings and pull her to my chest. She knocks straight into me, a gasp escaping her lips, and she sets her palms flat on my abs. I kiss her nose, and she blushes. “Lo,” she whispers, her heart beating quickly against me. Mine matches her speed, and I kiss her cheek. She breathes deeply, need flickering in her eyes but also something else…
She looks away from me, focusing on Connor and Rose who have a good five feet between them.
Rose has her arms crossed. “I hate your smile.”
“You love my smile. That’s why it annoys you, darling.”
“Your backwards logic wouldn’t make it past the first round of the Quiz Bowl Tournament.”
He takes a step closer to her. “My logic is what won my team the Quiz Bowl Tournament. Four years. In a row.”
She glares. “I hope your cat scratches your face tonight,” she deadpans. Rose even mimics the claws with her hand.
He grins like she gave him the best compliment.
My eyes fall back to Lily. “Lil?”
“Did you talk to Ryke about dating?” she asks, dodging my teasing like I’m not even kissing her. Usually she’d at least smile back.
“Yeah…he says that he’s not with your sister.” We’ve all speculated that something’s going on between him and Daisy ever since she moved into his apartment complex. He hasn’t dated one single girl since then. He even rejects girls when they try to flirt or offer their number. It’s weird.
“Maybe he has a secret girlfriend that’s not Daisy,” Lily offers a theory. He’s with Daisy almost every day. Connor doesn’t even think that’s possible.
“I don’t know…”
Lily anxiously rubs her arm, and her leg rises towards my hip, more out of impulse, a bad one. I can tell the difference by now.
“You okay, Lil?” I ask.
“Yeah,” she breathes. She drops her leg, catching herself.
“You’d tell me if I was pushing you too far?”
She nods quickly. “I’m okay, really. A little…” She leans close and whispers, “aroused.” Then she blushes again, but she ends up smiling nervously.
My lips rise. “I had no idea,” I say. “We’ll have to do something about that later.” I kiss the corner of her lips, and her body curves into mine. My hand lowers to her back, sliding underneath the band of her—
“Loren,” Rose snaps, completely ruining this.
I internally sigh and put some space between us. “Yeah?”
“How about you not grope my sister when I’m in the room?”
The irritation just storms right back inside of me. “How about you not verbally fuck your husband when I’m in the room, thanks?” I flash a smile.
Rose looks at me like I’m crazy. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
Connor leans against the kitchen counter with a growing smile, popping a grape in his mouth. Yeah, even when he eats, his lips pull upward in a rich grin.
“I hate your smile,” I mimic her in a high voice. “Your backwards logic wouldn’t…whatever.” I can’t even mimic her right. I wave her off and head towards the door. I need to get my brother and Daisy anyway. The food is all cooked.
As I open the door, I hear Rose’s voice in the background. “I was not flirting with you, Richard.”
I can pretty much feel his grin overtake his whole face.
“Hey,” I call, stepping into the garage and shutting the door behind me. “Dinner is…” My face falls, morphing into a series of emotions.
Ryke and Daisy are on a parked motorcycle together, her legs wrapped around his waist, lying almost flat against the gas can near the handlebars. His body is pushed up against hers, no space between them. It’s miles and miles away from innocent.