No one could break my high.
With no one to share my giddiness with, I texted Brian.
Me: We did it. Our plan is working. Dr. Hot Pants loves me.
It took a few long seconds before he texted back.
Brian: How could he not?
Me: Truth
I replied and tucked my phone back in my pocket with a smile. “Now this weekend, I’ll help you with the women,” I muttered out loud.
Brian had held up his end of the deal, and it was time for me to fulfill mine.
***
BRIAN
I shouldn’t have been annoyed that Stiff had flirted with Kendy, but I was. He hadn’t made a move since her text, though, and I doubted the dick would make one at all.
Maybe I was in denial. I couldn’t tell.
She had worked three twelve-hour shifts in a row and wanted to recuperate, but we’d been texting daily. Her funny jokes and my one-liners were comic relief during the boring yet stressful workweek. Still, I missed hanging out with her in person and seeing that beautiful face of hers. I didn’t want to miss her, but shit, I did.
Tonight was going to be hysterical. She was determined to set me up. I would’ve rather stayed in with her, but I knew her whole game plan this evening would be entertaining.
I sat on the bar stool against the kitchen island. The black granite countertops were a stark contrast to the white Sports Illustrated magazine with the model, Kate Upton, on the cover.
I heard the jingle of keys and looked up to see Trey strolling in.
With one hand, he undid his tie, and sauntered into the kitchen. “Man oh man. Daddy dearest made me work my ass off today.”
I laughed out loud, thinking how ironic it was that his father made him work harder than any of his execs or other partners.
“I feel you.” I sighed as my shoulders released the tension from the long day of customer calls.
Trey swung his suit jacket off and threw it on top of the bar stool next to me then went to sort through the pile of mail on the counter.
“One day, you’re going to be King of Manhattan like your daddy. I’m jealous, man,” I said.
He shook his head, an air of sadness in his face. “He’s got all the money in the world, but he’s lonely. Don’t be jealous.” The air in the atmosphere shifted to cold, as though I’d hit a nerve with my comment.
“You can buy company,” I joked, trying to lighten his mood.
“And I’m sure he has.” Trey reached into a drawer for the letter opener. “Anyways, what’re we doing tonight?” he asked as he tore through his first piece of mail.
“I’m meeting Kendy.”
He raised an eyebrow, but didn’t ask the question I knew he wanted to. “You headed to the bar? Mind if I tag along?” He threw me my pile of mail.
“You can hang out, but not at the after party at her place.” I smirked. “Sorry, I don’t swing that way.”
“Dumbass.” He rolled his eyes. “I can get my own.”
“We’re leaving at ten,” I told him.
A part of me wanted Kendy to myself since I hadn’t seen her all week, but I knew that was plain stupid. We weren’t together, and yet I missed her. It was becoming harder and harder to lie to myself.
Was it possible to miss someone who wasn’t even yours?
I looked at the clock on the wall. We still had time to grab something to eat before I was going to meet her. “Hey, want to grab dinner?”
“Sure,” he called back before strolling to his room.
“I’m going to snooze off for a bit. Wake me up when you’re done with your hair.”
***
KENDY
“No, that girl was a skank, a wannabe good girl. Gold digger through and through.” I slapped Trey’s shoulder as we chilled, reclining on the lounge chair of Clayton’s Wine Bar and checking out the slew of women in front of us.
After who knew how many rounds of drinks, we’d tried to look for Brian’s type. Trey and I had been arguing playfully for hours, not even letting Brian get a word in.
One thing we agreed on was that Brian needed to pick himself a keeper. We both knew he was ready to settle down.
“Kendall, you just don’t know your women like I do,” Trey joked, a heavy, drunken smile on his face.
I gave him my own drunken smile. “Trust me, I’m the queen of manipulation, and that girl was a skank to the tenth degree.” I flipped my golden locks over one shoulder. “And you say you know women, pfft. I know how women work because I’m from the species.”
“How about that girl?” I pointed to a beautiful tanned woman sitting by her friends on the opposite end of the room. She had legs that went on forever. Her face had a sweetness about it, and she was attractive, not super skinny, but where she had curves in all the right places.
Trey tipped his beer in the blonde’s direction. “That girl?”
“Yes, that girl.” I nodded. “Seriously, I’d date her. Look at her.”
“You’d date her because she looks like you.” He threw back his head as he laughed, which made me flush pink.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Brian said, getting in between us. “Don’t I get a say in who I’m going to end up with?”
“No!” Trey and I said in unison, making us all crack up.
Trey ran one hand through his dark hair and looked at me pointedly. “You were picking out all the uptight, granny-looking ones. I mean, you can’t do that for my man over here.” He threw one arm over Brian’s shoulders and pulled him in for a brotherly side hug.
“Well, you’re choosing the half-naked ones, with their titties hanging out. Seriously, that’s not settling down material.” I threw Trey a face.
Brian had been quiet most of the night. He had this lazy, drunk look all over his face, and he was take-me-to-bed adorable.
I patted his chest, letting my hand linger there as warmth spread up my arm. “Brian, tell your best friend that I’m right. You liked Chloe from Midtown, the beautiful blonde with the cutest outfit.”
Trey’s eyebrows shot to the dark night sky. “Um, that woman had jacked up teeth. Dude, messed up teeth is a deal breaker.” Trey pointed to the bar in front of us, where Chloe stood with her group of friends. “You want to get with Kendall’s girl with the jacked up teeth?”
I peered up at Brian, looking at him expectantly. “Oh, so you wanna marry flapper? She’s used and abused. Her shit’s so loose her lips down there are starting to flap.” I jutted my chin out, waiting for his reply. “Brian?”
He just shook his head at the both of us as the beginning of a smile tipped the corners of his mouth. “No comment.”
I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. “Whatever. You know I’m right. How about the bartender, the girl with the bouncy curls and a sweet smile?”
A slow secret smile crept up Trey’s face as he glanced back at the bartender tending to her patrons. “Kendy, have you noticed you’re only approving of the women for my boy over here,” he slapped Brian’s chest, “who look just like you.”
An awkward silence filled the air as Brian turned to me, and the tips of my ears heated as I glanced from the tall tanned woman, to Chloe, to the bartender with the blonde bouncy curls.
Shit! Trey was right, and I hadn’t even realized it.
I rolled my eyes. “The only thing we have in common is that we’re all hot. Don’t you think your boy deserves an attractive girl?” I played it off as a nervous chuckle left my lips.
Here I was trying to keep my distance and the friendship lines intact by setting Brian up with a woman who was worthy of him. But as I took in his beautiful face, a face that I’d been seeing on a weekly basis, I wondered where my place would be when this girl became a part of his life. I’d grown fond of hanging out with him, and the selfish part of me didn’t want to let that go.