Ben walks back to the car and jumps in, smiling over at me like the Cheshire Cat.
“What?”
He passes me a small piece of paper.
“What’s this?” I ask.
Tully Scott
Ben raises his eyebrows and smirks. “I got a name.”
I look over at him flatly. “Why?”
“‘Cause I’m the man.” He hits the dashboard. “Drive,” he commands.
I shake my head in disgust. “If I wanted to call her, I would have called her.”
“Except for…” Ben points at me, “that small matter of her blocking your number, as well as her hating you and shit.”
I fake a smile, screw up the piece of paper, and throw it into the backseat. “Keep your nose out of my business, Statham. You’re like a big fucking girl.” I start the car and pull out into the traffic. “You want coffee or what?”
I sit on the bench outside of the clothing boutique, sipping my water.
Bridget is sitting next to me with her legs up on the chair. Tash and Mum are inside the shop with Natasha’s bodyguards loitering around. It’s funny how I don’t really notice them much anymore. Her husband, Joshua Stanton, is loaded, and due to their history, Natasha has to have protection with her at all times.
I glance over at my sister. A question has been burning in my brain and I know she’s the only one who can answer it truthfully. She’s a good girl who fell in love with a man like me.
“Didge, when you first met Ben, how did you get together?”
She smiles softly, her face becoming nostalgic. “Well, the chemistry was instant. We really liked each other, that much was obvious.”
I watch her as I listen.
“But of course, we couldn’t do anything about it.”
Ben was Natasha’s husband’s bodyguard, and the boss’s sister-in-law was strictly forbidden.
“So, you snuck around?”
“Why are you suddenly so interested?”
I shrug. “I don’t know. I just know you and Ben were very different so…” My voice trails off.
“We didn’t sleep together for a long time. Months, probably.”
“Months?” What the fuck?
“No, we were just friends at first. I think Ben was scared he was going to fuck it up. He would sneak me out and I would go over to his house. We would watch movies and just hang out, you know, talk and stuff.”
I stare at her. “Talk?”
“Yeah.”
“What on earth is there to talk about for months?”
She shrugs. “I don’t know, but it’s how I fell in love with him.”
I smirk.
“What?”
“Talking to that dopy bastard made you fall in love with him? God, Bridget, don’t tell anyone that story.”
She giggles and nods. “Unbelievable, I know.”
We sit in silence for a moment.
“Sometimes it’s nice to make friends with someone first. It’s how women, you know, become comfortable with a man who would normally…” Her voice trails off this time.
I stare across the park in front of us. “Normally what?”
“Normally just want to fuck me. If he had wanted that and only that, we would never have gotten together. It gave us time to, I don’t know, transition to each other’s lives and personalities. Really get to know each other.”
I stare at her again, my mind a clusterfuck of emotions.
“But what happened if you were friends and then nothing else happened?”
She shrugs. “Then I had a really cool new friend, and that would have been okay, too. You can’t just fuck random women forever, Brock.” She smiles. “One of these days, you might actually meet a woman who you want be friends with.”
“I highly doubt that.” I smile.
She punches me in the arm. “It happens to the best of us, buddy.”
It’s 1:00 a. m., and I’m in my bed, staring at the ceiling.
My conversation with Bridget is weighing heavily on my mind. I have been feeling off lately, and maybe…
No, that can’t be it.
Can it?
I know I’m not comfortable with the fact I made Tully feel dirty. In fact, it makes me sick to my stomach to think about it. I don’t know why. It’s not like she means anything to me.
I roll over and toss and turn for another two hours until I can’t stand it any longer.
“Fuck’s sake!” I snap in frustration.
I go downstairs to my garage wearing only my boxer shorts, and I scramble around in the backseat of my car. I feel across the upholstery on the floor, and then up over the seat. I get my phone and put the torch on, searching the entire backseat.
Damn it, it must have blown out of the window or something. It was a week ago when Ben gave it to me.
I exhale heavily and am just about to close the door when I see the scrunched-up piece of paper tucked inside the pocket of the door.
I smile, pick it up, and read the name:
Tully Scott
I take the stairs two at a time and open my laptop.
“Okay, Tully Scott. Who are you?”
“Wow.” I smile at Meredith, my eyes wide in disbelief. “Check you out.”
She twirls proudly and puts her hands on her hips. “Pretty hot, huh?”
Callie giggles as she picks up her bag and keys. “You sure are. Let’s get going.”
Callie and I have spent the afternoon giving Meredith a makeover. We’re just about to take her to her first club. She looks amazing, and not at all like the daggy girl we first met. She’s wearing a tight black dress of Callie’s, and her hair has been set into big Hollywood curls to compliment her smoky eyes and big red lips. Callie and I are very proud of our handy work.
“Selfie!”
We lean in together, and Callie takes a photo of us all. This is a big moment in Meredith’s life and I can feel her excitement. We take the photo of the three of us laughing, and I smile as I stare down at it on my phone. Meredith looks so happy. We take the elevator, and when the doors open on the ground floor, a group of five girls are just coming out of an apartment. They catch my eye because every one of them is stunning. It’s unusual to have so many gorgeous women together at once.
“Hi, Meredith.” One of them smiles, and then, as they approach us, they all begin to circle Meredith as if she’s some kind of exhibition.
“Damn girl,” one says. “Look at you, being all hot.”
Meredith smiles proudly “We’re going clubbing. These are my new friends, Callie and Tully,” she announces.
“Hello.” They all smile.
Callie and I smile, and my heart flips a little. Meredith really does have a good heart. I hate that she’s so misunderstood.
“Have fun,” the girls call as they disappear out the front doors before hitting the street and climbing into a parked, black SUV.
“Who are they?” I ask Meredith.
“That was Peachy Sue and her friends.”
“Oh.” I watch their car disappear around the corner. “Her friends?”
“Yes. Her work friends. The ones who sleep with rich men.”
Callie’s eyes meet mine. “Wow, I’m impressed by how gorgeous they all are,” I whisper. They’re not at all what I imagined prostitutes to look like. “Who knew?”
“How do you know them again?” Callie asks.
“I have drinks with them sometimes while they get ready for work.” She shrugs. “Well, I have drinks and they have blow.”
“Blow?” I ask.
“Cocaine,” Callies mutters as she quickly reapplies her lipstick.
“Oh.” I frown. “But, didn’t you say you slept with Peachy Sue’s boyfriend? I’m confused.”
“No, he wants to be her boyfriend, but she doesn’t like him. That’s why he didn’t want her to find out about us so that it wouldn’t ruin his chances.”
I cringe in disgust. “This guy sounds like a real sleazebag, Meredith. Stay away from him.”