Changing Hearts Page 11

  I pushed away from where my arms had been braced on the counter and backed her into the fridge. I placed my forearm just above her head and leaned in. Our lips were inches apart.

  “So, you think this”—I used my other hand to grip her waist—“is innocent?”

  Her eyes widened as I closed the distance. My gaze dropped to the movement of her chest as her breath quickened.

  “Because this is exactly how he was talking to that chick.”

  Her mouth parted and it would be so easy to kiss her. Ash was right. There could never be anything between us. She’d made that clear. I put distance between us. I had to turn away and adjust my dick. It was suddenly as hard as the steel in her eyes when I faced her again.

  “You have it wrong,” she said in a rush. “It wasn’t like that.”

  “Whatever you have to tell yourself.”

  That put fire in her eyes, the heat of which I wanted to consume. She stormed over to me, ready to trade blows.

  “Maybe if you stop being a jerk, you wouldn’t be so lonely.”

  I lost my smile.

  “I’m never lonely. I choose to be alone because there are always offers.”

  She waved me off.

  “I don’t even know why I bother. But here is a last piece of advice.” I didn’t give her a chance to stop me. “Why don’t you surprise your boyfriend? Show up unexpected one day.”

  She tossed her hands up. “And what will that prove?”

  I reached in the fridge, got a beer, and shrugged. “I guess you’ll have to see.”

  The doorbell chimed.

  “Just in time,” I muttered.

  “What?”

  She hadn’t heard me.

  I turned and walked backward toward the door. “I said I’m only ever lonely when I want to be.”

  Two willing females with huge smiles strode in when I opened the door.

  “We made you cookies.”

  My smirk was all for Shelly before I gave chick one my full attention.

  “Well, that’s mighty sweet of you. Why don’t we eat them upstairs?”

  Grinning, I watched as Shelly stormed off. Chick two made her way over and had her hand down my shorts and wrapped around my dick in no time flat. Time to move the party upstairs.

  A knock came at the door, stopping our forward progress. Before I could go and open it, Ash let himself in.

  “You’re a little late for the party. But if the ladies don’t mind, you can join.”

  Both girls nodded. I offered Ash a silent challenge before giving him my back and leading the ladies to Kelley’s old room. I left the door open, so when it clicked closed, I didn’t have to turn to see that Ash followed.

  Chick two broke free from my hold and got on her knees before Ash as if he were a god. She began to undo his buttons before he finished the job for her.

  I raised my hands and said, “Let the games begin.” Then I fell back on the mattress and let chick one do her thing.

  TWENTY FIVE

  Shelly

  Two girls, seriously? And why did I even care. He wasn’t my boyfriend. Hell, we barely tolerated each other. Still, my teeth ground together, imagining what the hell was going on upstairs.

  “Gah,” I said out loud and marched out of my room with my keys in hand.

  There was no way I was staying for the show. With my luck, earbuds wouldn’t mute the sounds they would make.

  The living room was empty and I dashed out the front door. Sawyer was a class-A asshole. Jerk, I repeated numerous times in my head.

  I thought about the forgotten dinner, but I didn’t care. I hadn’t exactly told David I was making him dinner.

  “Shelly?”

  I was three seconds from making a getaway. Glancing up, I saw Chance and Brie hand in hand, staring at me like I was crazy.

  “You don’t want to go in there, trust me.”

  Chance’s brow arched.

  I let go of the breath I’d been holding. “He’s got company. More than one.”

  “I’m not surprised, actually,” Brie said.

  Stunned, I asked the question. “Really?”

  “He’s been a loner from what I’ve seen since Ash left. He’s probably making up for lost time.”

  Sawyer had been a recluse? I didn’t believe it. That boy had more moves drunk than most guys did sober. I had to clench my thighs together remembering all the delicious ways he’d made me feel on our one night together. The only other guy I’d let get that close to me was a total disappointment. Kelley might have come close, but he’d dumped me for Lenora before we’d gotten that far. Ashton hadn’t touched me once. Was I cursed?

  I heard my name in the distance and blinked up. Brie had a concerned look on her face.

  “I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Yes, we will.” Brie pointed a finger at me. “We’ll have a girl’s night this weekend.”

  Chance was too damn cute for words. The despair he had on his face because Brie was making plans with me was priceless. That was what I wanted. Was it wrong to be envious? I didn’t begrudge Brie her happiness. She deserved it. She and Chance were the perfect couple. I was glad Kelley and Lenora no longer lived here. That would be too much to take.

  The ride to David’s was short. So short my annoyance with Sawyer hadn’t dissipated. The house was overrun with people. It wasn’t party full, but there were enough people mingling around. I just walked in without knocking.

  I hadn’t called in advance. When I didn’t spot David, I considered texting him. I had my phone in my hand when something pulled me toward the short hall that led to the back of the house. First it was a hand, then a familiar arm that came into view. It was pressed against the wall. A head that didn’t belong to that arm was nearby. Immediately, I was reminded of Sawyer and his damnable words of wisdom.

  David came into full view after I’d taken a few more steps. He hadn’t noticed me yet. His focus was on the girl he had cornered against the wall. I refused to be the jealous type and fly off the handle. There could be a reasonable explanation. So I moved close enough that the shadow I cast made David twist to see me.

  His eyes were glassy to the point I could see miniature mirrors of myself in his eyes.

  “Hey, babe.” His smile was genuine. His companion’s wasn’t. Points for him calling me babe and making me feel welcome.

  Screw you, Sawyer. On autopilot, his arm moved from the wall to wrap around my shoulder as he pulled me close. The tension left my body. I was right for not reacting and making a scene.

  “I didn’t think I’d see you tonight,” he said.

  His focus was all on me.

  “I missed you.”

  It wasn’t the total truth, but we had an audience. Truth was, I missed something. Rather, I wanted something. I wanted to be missed.

  “I missed you too.” His grin curled so far it brought out the boyishly cute side of him I was sure all the girls loved.

  He walked us away without saying goodbye to the girl, which was so rude. I considered waving, but thought better of it. She wouldn’t see it for the gesture it was. She’d assume I was mocking her. So I didn’t.

  “Why don’t we go to my room for some privacy?”

  I let him steer me to the stairs, though I was sure he had other ideas than I did. I still didn’t feel like taking the next step. Being burned had made me gun shy. Granted I’d pushed Sawyer away. And damn him for not attempting to change my mind. I wasn’t sure if that was because he’d forgotten what had happened that night. Hell, he’d been as drunk as I’d been. Or maybe I was just forgettable.

  Considering the next two assholes who’d conveniently forgotten my number after we’d gone out for a while, my ego suffered much. Maybe I sucked at sex and not in a good way.

  Upstairs, David’s hand drifted lower on my waist. By the time we were in the room, he’d palmed my ass.

  I did a two-step out of his hold.

  “Can we just talk for a while?”

  H
is expression didn’t grow horns, which I took as a good thing.

  “Sure, babe.”

  He flopped on his bed and beckoned me to join him. I crawled over and sat resting my back on the wall. He tugged me close, but didn’t do anything more.

  “What do you want to talk about?”

  Well, that made things awkward.

  “How do you like your classes?” I asked.

  He shrugged. “One of them is going to kick my ass. If I have a prayer of passing, I need a tutor.”

  Common ground, I thought. If I could help him, then maybe we’d grow closer.

  “What class?”

  “Statistics.” He groaned, but snuggled closer to me.

  Damn, math wasn’t my favorite subject.

  “I was hoping Grace would help me. That’s who I was talking to.”

  Shitballs. It was a good thing I hadn’t gone all cray-cray on him.

  “Do you like your classes?”

  A shrug was all I could do. My classes were pretty boring. Nothing to love or hate about them. My professors were all pretty decent.

  Silence wormed between us. Though we were sitting next to each other, I never felt farther from someone. What had happened in the summer? It had felt so natural between us. There was always something to say or laugh about.

  “What do you like about me?” I blurted.

  He laughed, but it ended so abruptly, it sounded more like a cough.

  “Are you serious?”

  I nodded.

  His hand landed on my thigh. “Well, you’re sexy as hell.”

  His breath fanned over my neck as he nuzzled in, taking my question as invitation for something else. I squirmed away, brushing him away like lint.

  Eyes that had been aflame before pricked with a different kind of heat.

  “Is that all you like about me?” I asked.

  “No.” His answer came too quick. “We had fun this summer.”

  His statement came out more like a question. Don’t get me wrong. David was easy to look at. And we did have fun this summer. But it had just been us at a job in a town where neither of us knew anyone else. Had our connection simply been because of that?

  “We did.” I tried to convince myself. I said it again with more conviction. “I did. I really like you.”

  “I really like you too.”

  He leaned over and brushed his lips over mine. It wasn’t forceful. He was being sweet. Yet, I couldn’t seem to get a certain egotistic bastard out of my head. It was like he was watching us when I knew damn well he wasn’t thinking about me at all.

  TWENTY-SIX

  Sawyer

  The first thing I did when I woke up was head to the shower. Last night was a mistake as I stared into the gloom of the empty room. The girls were gone. Ash was gone. And I felt just as disgusted with myself as the look on Shelly’s face when the girls showed up.

  Before I could get to the door, it sprung open. Ash stood there, fresh from the shower.

  “You didn’t leave.”

  He shook his head. My phone buzzed in my hand. Dread made bile churn in my stomach when I saw who was calling.

  “Dad,” I said into the phone.

  “Sawyer.” There was disappointment in his tone. What had I done now? “I’ll be at the game this weekend. Your mother is looking forward to meeting your girlfriend.”

  “Why?”

  It wasn’t a question about Mom, and Dad got that.

  “Some of my supporters are huge fans of college ball.” Of course. Dad had never come to a game before. I wasn’t a player of consequence. “We’ll have dinner, so don’t make plans.”

  He hung up before I could respond.

  “Your dad?”

  I nodded. Ash’s mouth closed on whatever he was about to say. There was a time when Dad’s shit didn’t get to me. Ash had always been there. I’d crack a joke and all the bad shit in our lives would disappear. Now, he just nodded back at me and walked away.

  Part of me almost did nothing, said nothing. But I was tired of the silence and the divide between us.

  “You know, Ash.”

  He turned and we were both taking steps backward.

  “You didn’t have a problem banging those two girls last night. You should really think about that and not let that bastard get in your head.”

  A grim line appeared, taking away any hope that things could be as they had been so long ago.

  Weakly, I added, “You don’t have to leave. You can move back in. The room is still yours.”

  I didn’t wait for an answer because I didn’t expect one. Behind the bathroom door, I pushed all that shit aside. Dad was coming for the weekend and I needed a girlfriend. As I got out of the shower, a plan formed in my head that made me fucking smile. It was brilliant. I slung a towel around my hips and ran a hand through my damp hair before I turned on Snapchat.

  ASHTON

  I hadn’t liked how we’d left things. Sawyer had been there for me more times than I could count and I’d left him after his asshole of a father got to him.

  What I didn’t expect was to find a line of women that wrapped around the corner. All kinds of women—short, tall, big, small, and like Skittles, there was a rainbow of colors.

  No telling what Sawyer was up to. I breezed by the females and entered the house where I found him perched on the couch like a king holding court.

  “Ladies,” Sawyer said in grand fashion. “No need to fight. You’ll each get your turn.”

  Though I didn’t say much, that didn’t mean I was always at a loss for words. Yet there I was, wondering what the hell was going on, and I said as much.

  Sawyer glanced up and gave me that shot in your heart lopsided smile of his. He was like a fucking puppy you couldn’t get mad at when they pissed in your bed.

  “I need a girlfriend,” he announced. “These ladies were kind enough to help me out.”

  He picked up a bottle and lifted it to his lips. I crossed to where he sat and took it from his hands.

  “I think you’ve had enough.”

  “Dude, I’m not drunk. A little buzzed, but definitely not wasted. Not yet.”

  The girl on his lap giggled.

  “That’s it.” I raised my voice. “Show’s over. Everybody out.” I pointed at the chick in his lap. “Time to leave.”

  “Don’t listen to him,” Sawyer crooned. “He doesn’t even live here anymore.”

  “I do. And I want everyone gone and now.”

  My voice carried like I had an amplifier. People started moving until I noticed the upheaval at the front door.

  SHELLY

  Elbowing the sluts waiting like there was a Playboy model call at our house had worked. The ones in the door, however, weren’t so compliant.

  “You wait your turn like the rest of us.”

  I prayed for calm. If that chick didn’t get out of my face I was going to punch her.

  “I live here,” I said.

  “Sure you do.” Silicone Barbie rolled her eyes after judging me with one sweeping glance. “Although you look like a boy and stand no chance, you have to wait like the rest of us.”

  “Shelly, don’t.”

  I’d balled my hand into a fist, damn the consequences. But seeing Ashton pissed off scared me silent. I’d never seen him so enraged before.

  “I said everybody out. Shelly stays,” he directed.

  Another roll of the chick’s eyes and she turned around. Sawyer’s voice drifted over Ashton’s shoulders.

  “Snap me your numbers and I’ll make a decision tonight.”

  It took a while, not long enough, for my anger to die down. I had shit to do, but I had to play fucking bodyguard with Ash to get the twit rollcall to disburse. When everyone was finally gone, including the one who clung to Sawyer like bad odor, Ashton and I turned on Sawyer with folded arms across our chests.

  SAWYER

  They stared at me like I’d done something wrong.

  “You guys sure know how to spoil a guy’s fun.�
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  “Seriously, what were you planning, a reality show on how to become the next Hugh Hefner?” Shelly shook her head. “You are such a manwhore.”

  “Are you man shamming me? I thought you knew better than that.”

  She failed at her next words.

  “I think the two of you saw my fun meter going up and made up your mind to bring it down.”

  “Bring you down.” She choked out a laugh. “You and the slut parade. Go for it.”

  “I will. In fact, I’m going on a slut spree. One of them could be my future wife.”

  “You’re a pig.”

  “And you’re jealous.”

  “Jealous? I have a boyfriend.”

  “One who can’t make you wet.”

  “You—”

  “Got you all hot and bothered you can’t even think straight.”

  “Okay, enough.” Ash finally stepped between us.

  “Stop cock blocking.”

  Ash’s eyes widened.

  “That’s right. You don’t want my cock anywhere but—”

  “Don’t listen to him, Ash. He’s just trying to piss you off. That’s his way of saying I love you.”

  “Then the both of you say that to me every day.”

  None of us spoke. I picked my next words carefully.

  “You two should probably get together. You have so much in common.” When I only got eyebrows raised, I added, “Me.”

  Then I headed to my room and shut the door firmly. I flopped on my bed and pulled out my phone. Time to look through Snapchat for my very first real girlfriend.

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  Ashton

  “Wait, Shelly.”

  She spun around and I saw the fury in her eyes.

  “Don’t be mad at him.”

  “Mad? I’m not mad.”

  I wanted to reach out to her and hug her. But I let my hand fall to my side.

  “He’s not a bad guy.”

  The amused expression on her face was full of pity.