“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 . . .
AFTER WORK I WENT BACK to the house, said goodbye to Memphis, and packed most of my shit into the back of my truck. It only took me about three hours to get everything moved and unpacked. By the time I was done, Tripp was standing in my doorway with a huge grin on her face, obviously glad that I kept my word.
“Someone looks awfully happy,” I say while plopping down on my bed with my hands laced behind my head.
She runs across the room and jumps on the bed next to me, rolling on her side to face me, and propping herself up on her arm to look down at me. “Of course I am.” She lays her head on my chest and throws her leg over my waist, tucking herself against my body. “My boy is finally here. I pretty much haven’t seen you in five days. You know that is unacceptable. I’ve missed the shit out of you.”
I close my eyes, feeling guilty for not at least stopping by to see her. I guess I have to admit that I’ve been a bit pissed off about her and Lucas being in the same house together. I just don’t like the idea of her being around him every day. It feels too much like us.
“Well I’m here now.” I sigh. “I won’t let it happen again.” I run my hand through the back of her hair and lightly tug on it. “Come here,” I whisper.
She looks up at me before scooting up higher so that her face is tucked into my neck. Damn, she smells so good. “You promise me,” she asks against my skin.
I grab her leg and pull her over me, positioning her so that she’s partially lying between my legs, the rest of her body on top of me. Then I kiss her hair and tangle my fingers in it. We’ve been doing this since I was twelve. “Yeah. I just had to deal with a few things alone. You know I’m always here. If you would have asked me to come see you, you know there is no way in hell I could have said no.”
“I know,” she simply says. “I guess I just wanted you to come on your own.”
I smile against her hair before grabbing her underneath her ass and pulling her up to straddle me. I rest my hands on the front of her thighs. “I come alone sometimes. A lot, actually.” I laugh as she punches me and pushes down on my chest. She really doesn’t realize that the way she’s moving her body right now is about to give her a huge surprise if she doesn’t hold still. “Would it be bad if I admitted I get hard when you punch me? I like it rough. Keep it up.”
Her face turns red before she punches me a few more times. “Is that what I feel?”
She crawls off of me and rolls over on her back beside me on the mattress. “You really are a guy. I guess I should have found a girl for a best friend. Things would be a lot different.”
I sit up and look at her while rolling my sleeves up to my elbows. “You have no idea.”
She swallows, before breaking eye contact and standing, then walking toward the door. “So . . . you should get ready for the party tonight. I’m sure Mel will be showing up soon.”
Having Mel here is the last thing I am even thinking about at the moment, but I guess having her around will keep me distracted from worrying about Tripp and Lucas and what kind of shit they’ll be up to tonight. “Yeah. I’ll be down in a bit. I’m going to relax and then take a quick shower. I’ve been up since five so I need to prep my brain for party mode.”