I’d rather be doing just about anything with Sierra.
I don’t have a clue what’s going to happen between us. Whatever it is, I know that it’s probably going to cost me my friendship with Jake. That should be enough to stop me from seeing her, but there’s no way I can. I’m simply powerless.
Holden orders another round of beers for the table before checking his phone for the third time in the past 10 minutes, no doubt hoping for a text from Aubrey. The guy is whipped, trading guys’ nights for time alone with his girlfriend. It’s made sneaking around with Sierra a lot easier because he’s rarely ever home anymore, spending most nights at Aubrey’s place. A month ago, I would have been calling him out for choosing a woman over his bros, but I’d be a hypocrite now if I bitched at him about it. It seems I’m just as whipped as he is.
Our server approaches our table with a bucket of beer, taking our empties with her. When she’s gone, Tucker addresses the elephant at the table.
“You gonna keep your face in that phone all night?” He nods at Holden before taking a pull of his beer.
Holden looks up from his phone. “Aubrey is out with some friends. They’re at Catch 21. Just checking in to see how her night is.”
“Is she checking on you too or is it just you who needs hourly updates?” Tuck fires back.
I look over at Jake, but he seems to have missed the entire conversation, his gaze on the TV above the bar playing Yankees highlights. He snaps to attention at the mention of his sister’s name, though.
“Sierra has your grandma’s house looking good,” Tucker says, changing the subject. “She’s got a green thumb. The flowers she planted out front look great.”
“Yeah, she likes that shit. Always has,” Jake says, and I feel tension immediately take root in my shoulders. If Jake knew that his sister isthe girlI’ve been sneaking round with for the last four weeks he’d definitely lose it. And then he’d probably bury me alive.
“I saw you leaving her house the other day,” Holden says, looking over at me. My stomach drops, and I look at Holden, then to the bar, then to Tucker, who is shooting his housemate a look that saysare you insane, her brother is right there. I look anywhere but at Jake. “So, how’s she doing with her reno?” Holden asks me.
“I’m not sure, you’d have to ask her. Maybe Jake knows,” I say, busy trying to act fucking normal, like my dick was not shoved all the way down his sister’s throat last night.
“You were at my sister’s house?” Jake asks, eyes narrowed directly at me. “What the fuck were you doing at Sierra’s?”
This is the day I fucking die.
“I lent her my power drill,” I say with a shrug, praying I don’t sound as nervous as I feel. “I ran into her taking her garbage out and she mentioned she needed one, so I found mine in the garage and dropped it off for her.” One lie turns into another, and then another, until I’ve spun a completely bogus story without an ounce of truth to it. It feels terrible. I feel like shit for lying to my friends.
“Is that it?” Jake asks with a pissed off look on his face. “Because you know my sister is off-limits, right?”
My hands fly up like two stop signs. Like I didn’t just fuck his sister with my tongue yesterday. “Right. Off limits.”Another lie.“Got it.”
“I hate to be the one to break it to you, but your sister is a grown woman,” Tuck says between bites of his taco. “She can date whoever she wants, man. Would it really be so bad if she wanted to date one of us?”
Holden and I both visibly wince. He’s going to get punched in the throat for that comment.
“Try it and see,” Jake says, his voice taking on a menacing note. “I’ll smash your brains in.”
“Okay, okay,” Tuck says, leaning back in his bar stool. “Take a chill pill. I’m just saying that she’s going to date someone eventually, Jake, and there are far worse dudes out there than us.”
“Are you shitting me right now? I know your track record, you, and Gray. You would fuck her and never talk to her again. You think I’d be okay with that?”
My stomach coils. I can’t blame him for thinking the way that he does. It’s true that I don’t do commitment, and neither does Tuck. But Sierra is different. I would never do that to her. And I wouldn’t put Jake through it either. I wouldn’t shit all over four years of friendship just to get off. But I can’t expect him to believe that when he knows my history with women. I rub the back of my neck, trying to ease away the tension. I knew this is how Jake would react, so why am I still so bothered by it?
“Besides, she has big goals, and she doesn’t need a relationship right now to get in her way. She doesn’t need the distraction.”
“Is she going back to school for something?” Holden asks cautiously.
“She wants to open her own bakery,” Jake says, and I try not to let my surprise register on my face. I don’t know what I expected him to say, but it wasn’t that. She’s never said a thing to me about owning a bakery.
“A bakery?” Tucker asks, sounding equally puzzled. “Why does she want to do that?”
“It doesn’t matter, she just does. Anyways, that’s just one reason she doesn’t need a guy screwing her around. She has a lot going on with The Seaside, my Gran, a new house in a new city.”
“I get all that but getting into a relationship— or not— is up to her. You don’t get a say,” Tuck says, trying yet again to make his point.
“She’s not looking for a relationship. Trust me. She’s so busy we barely have time to get together these days. I was going to stop by last night to help her out at the house, but she said she had too much work to catch up on,” Jake says before stuffing his mouth with a bite of his taco.