Page 12 of Fake Rocks
D: Do we have a choice?
He followed up with a smiley face, tongue sticking out emoji. At least he was still interested in being a part of this. I waited in anticipation for Barney’s response.
B: Be there at eight. Don’t be late, otherwise you might not have a band.
The veiled threat in Barney’s message was absolutely clear. I had one chance to make this work.
Satisfied, I lay back down on the bed, staring at the ceiling. If I was going to start to make amends with Darren and Barney and get TheSB back on track, maybe I could do the same with my personal life.
If Tris agreed to the proposition.
I’d only given him about fifteen minutes to make a decision, but I needed to find out where I stood. If it was a negative, Jonas was going to have to find someone else, and quickly.
Either way, I had to know.
I jumped off the bed and headed to the kitchen, hoping to find him there. He was on his knees, fixing the drawers into their sliders. Jonas’ office door was closed and Tris’ uncle wasn’t around. It was the perfect opportunity to get an answer.
“Hey.”
“Shit!” He jumped, knocking the screwdriver into his hand then bringing his palm to his mouth as he turned to face me.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you…” I genuinely felt guilty. “Oh, shit, you’re bleeding.”
“It’s nothing, a nick.” Tris got to his feet and headed over to the sink.
I crossed the room and stood next to him, taking his hand and holding it under the tap. His skin was rough, as I would have expected from someone who was in his line of work. My mind wandered, as I thought of him brushing my body with those hands, how the ridged pads of his fingers would feel against my nipples, my hips, my clit. I let out a soft sigh as my imagination ran riot.It’s only meant to be pretend.
“Saff, I think it’s okay now, you can stop.”
Reluctantly, I came back to reality and turned off the tap. Tris was right, there was a small scratch on his palm where the screwdriver had slipped, but otherwise he was fine. Keen to show I was a caring individual, I located the First Aid kit from the box on the side and found a plaster to stick over the injury. My own fingers caressed his palm as I ensured the plaster stuck and did its job.
“Did you want another coffee?” he asked, as he pulled his hand away.
I felt bereft by his withdrawal, even though he actually needed his hands to be able to carry on with his job. “Or maybe you need hot sweet tea, for the shock instead?”
A shy grin spread across his face. “For stabbing myself with a screwdriver or your crazy idea?”
“Both?” I smiled back. “Look, I wanted to talk to you about that.” Suddenly, I felt shy too, kind of unusual for me when I was around a man. Usually, I was in control and had the upper hand. In this, particularly strange, circumstance the roles were reversed. “I know we landed it on you unexpectedly…”That was an understatement, in fact, less than an hour ago I was hating Jonas for even making me consider it.“I wondered what you thought. I mean, I know I’m not the easiest of people to be around, or even to pretend to be in a relationship with, but you’d be doing me the most massive favour.” I twirled a strand of pink hair around my finger, an action I did when I wanted something. I knew it made me look more innocent, even endearing. It had to be worth a shot.
Tris’ shoulders slumped and my heart plummeted into my boots.
Shit. He was going to turn me down.
“I don’t know what the hell I’m getting myself into here,” he said, his gaze fixated on something over my shoulder. “Or how long you need me to play pretend for. After all, Uncle Col and I are only here for a few weeks.”
A few weeks would be a good start…dammit Tris, tell me what your answer is!
My eyes bored into him, willing him to respond.
“But I’m prepared to give it a go.” His gaze moved to mine and I saw a glint of mischief in his hazel eyes.
A yelp escaped from my lips. I wanted to throw myself upon him, but it was probably too soon. Instead, I held out my hand. “Thanks, Tris, you don’t know how much this means to me.”
His big rough hand enveloped my small smooth one as we shook on it.
Keen to get the pretence going, I gambled on his availability. “So, um, are you free this evening? Me and the guys are going to see a band and check out the drummer, ask him if he wants to join TheSB.”
Tris let out a laugh. “I kinda wish I’d been asked that instead.” He winked. “Although I’ve never picked up a drumstick in my life, except at a barbecue.”
