Page 5 of Up in Smoke

“It’s locked.”

I walk casually, turning toward the room across from it. “Try again.”

She wiggles the handle with more force this time and stomps her foot against the bottom of it when it still won’t open.

“FUCK OFF, Tripp!” Heston yells from inside the room, practically making the wooden door vibrate.

I laugh so hard I have to lean forward and rub the center of my chest. Never gets old. After opening the door to my real room, I hold my hand out in the entryway.

“Ma’am.”

She walks through while narrowing her eyes at me. “Did you tell me the wrong room on purpose to piss him off?”

“Yep.” I close the door and turn the lock, fighting off another yawn. Maybe she’ll slap me a few times to wake me up. I could be into that. “So, where are you fr?—”

My sentence is cut off when I turn around and come face to face with Violet, standing at the end of my bed, shirt and bra already discarded and on the floor. My eyes widen, and I rub the side of my face.

This might be a record.

2

TRIPP

“Less talk,cowboy. More action.”

Oof. The line between cringing and ripping off my clothes is laughably thin for me at the moment.

I swallow the urge to ghost her. Is that even possible when you’re in the same room already and one of you is closing in on stark naked? Her hips sway, and I’m momentarily distracted from my thoughts. She looks damn good.

This is just like any other night. Any other girl.

Did your balls fall off? You like this sort of thing, remember?

“Okay . . . How about we?—”

With no warning, she runs toward me and jumps. It’s sheer luck that I catch her. Two legs wrap tightly around my waist, and with my eyes still wide open, she kisses me.

“You’re so fucking hot,” she moans between sloppy movements of her mouth against mine. Her hands latch onto my biceps, then she drags her nails all the way down to my forearms. “That jawline. And these tattoos do something to me. Take your clothes off. Now.”

She can’t even throw in a please? Good boy? I don’t remember ever being this picky with a half-naked girl in myarms, but I can’t help but pick her words apart. Once you’ve heard them a few dozen times, they don’t land the same.

My grip tightens around her waist and under her ass because she’s moving her hips in some sort of chaotic circular motion. I remain still for the most part though, wondering if I want to get laid bad enough to go along with it. The lack of blood rushing below the belt is as good a sign as any that I, in fact, do not.

Yeah, this shit just doesn’t do it for me anymore, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why.I’m an idiotis the only reason I can come up with. She catches on to my lack of reciprocation and pulls away to push her tits up and bat her eyes.

“Throw me on your bed and tie me to it, already! I’m so ready for this after all I’ve heard.”

That’s what this is? I fight an eye roll and step forward to toss her on the mattress like she requested, if only to put some distance between us. She arches her back and sticks a fucking finger in her mouth.Jesus.

It’s no secret that I get around, and I take my talents seriously—horseback riding, poker, fingering . . . basic stuff. You learn a thing or two when you’ve been knocking boots as long as I have, and girls tend to spill the beans when they spend a night with a guy who never comes first. Word gets around, and I’ve run into this situation before.

Show me what you’ve got, they say.

Usually, I’m happy to oblige, but Violet caught me on a bad night. She seems like she’d be fun to fool around with. It’s not her. It’s me.

I pause, standing at the side of the bed, and push my hair back with enough grip to nearly pull it right from the roots. Unfortunately, I’m over this shit, and the attempt to yank my hair out in frustration does nothing to rewire my thoughts.

I can slap myself tomorrow for choosing sleep over an easy lay. For now, I need to figure out how to get a half-naked girl home safely without making her cry.

---