I would have bristled at the insinuation of Rex being an asshole if it weren’t for the heat that rushed to my cheeks, beating any other emotion to the punch. There was no stopping it. Not when I was immediately assaulted with the memories of last night.
Frankie had been at her grandma’s, which meant Rex had me all night. Again and again. The man hard and commanding and rough. Demanding my pleasure just as sure as he’d demanded his. My body his claim. I’d never had sex like that. Not in all my life.
I shifted in the metal chair.
Nikki’s mouth dropped open. “Oh. My. God.”
My eyes widened in as much feigned innocence as I could muster. “What are you talking about?”
Yeah. I was brilliant when I was put on the spot. I wasn’t much of a player of games. But I honestly didn’t think Rex would appreciate me gossiping about how freaking fantastic he was in bed to my friends.
“Don’t you ‘what’ me, young lady. I know there’s a story behind all of that.” She circled her finger around my face, as if in my expression was a written confession. “And a good one, too. Fess up. There’s no way you two are just doing business together.” She air-quoted the business part.
Lillith swatted Nikki’s arm. “If she doesn’t want to talk about it, don’t force her.” Lillith looked back at me with an apologetic grin. “I swear that she chases all the good ones away because she thinks she needs to know every detail about everything.”
“That’s what friends are for. The details. I want all the details.” She looked to the sky as if she were casting up a petition. Her attention dropped right back to me with a plea on her face. “Come on, Rynna. Tell me. I can’t stand it. I want to know how you convinced Rex to work for you. I mean, not that you’re not all kinds of gorgeous, because we all know you are, and I’m pretty sure you could enchant just about any man with your sexual wiles, but we’re talking Rex Gunner here. ”
Leaning forward, I rested my forearms on the table as I fiddled with a paper napkin. “He’s not an asshole.”
Not even close.
“He just . . . doesn’t normally let people get to know him.”
Nikki’s brows rose. “And you know him?”
“We’re . . .”
“You’re what?” This from Lillith. She shifted forward. “Are you and Rex seeing each other?” Shock lined every syllable of the question.
Uneasily, I glanced down the street, not sure how to describe what Rex and I were. What we had.
Not when it felt like everything but still lacked a name. “We’ve been spending time together,” I settled on.
Nikki smacked the table then pointed at me. “I knew it!”
“You’re dating Rex Gunner?” Lillith drew in a sharp breath, totally taken aback.
“Is that such a surprise?” I didn’t mean for it to come across as defensive. But it did. I was feeling protective of Rex and the misguided reputation he had. As if he wasn’t deserving of love. Or maybe there were those distorted doubts that I wasn’t good enough.
Not to mention those specks of insecurity I felt at the mystery that remained hidden in his eyes, this needle of discomfort that poked and prodded and warned there was something he was keeping from me.
I was right there and he was terrified to let me the rest of the way in.
Lillith softened. “I am surprised, but not in a bad way. Rex deserves to find happiness. He’s had it rough. I couldn’t imagine a better person for him and that little girl than you.”
My lips pursed, and I decided to go with blatant honesty. Because Lillith and Nikki made me feel that I could. “I’m sorry. Sometimes . . . there are times when an old defensiveness appears out of nowhere. High school wasn’t exactly easy for me, and trust comes hard sometimes.”
Lillith glanced at Nikki. “I don’t think it was easy for any of us.”
“Oh, Lillith and I are no strangers to the high school bitches, are we Lily Pad? Believe me, we get it, and I promise you, our circle is safe. We invited you into it because we like you. That’s it.”
Gratitude throbbed, and a soft smile pulled to my mouth. “That really means a lot to me. I hope you know that.”
“Of course we know it. We’re awesome.” Nikki capped it off with a wink.
I laughed lightly. Truly loving that they had welcomed me into their circle.
My phone buzzed on the table. Excitement pulled across my ribs. I was biting at my bottom lip as I grabbed it from where I’d placed it face down, beating back a smile when I saw the text from Rex on the screen.
Rex: You still hanging out with your girls?
He’d teased me this morning when I’d tried to leave my bed, which he’d been gloriously stretched out in the middle of. The best kind of topping for twisted sheets. Naked and perfect and turning my world upside down. He’d told me he could think of much better ways to keep me entertained. It’d taken about all I had to rip myself away and force myself into the shower.
He’d just followed me in there.
I tapped out a quick reply.
Me: Finishing up soon. Will I see you later?
I set it back down. Obviously, I hadn’t done that great of a job containing my grin.
Nikki and Lillith stared back at me. Then Nikki howled. “Oh girl . . . you have it bad,” she drew out. “You should see your face right now. You are in so much trouble. Put a fork in that pie because you are done.”
“Stop it,” I whispered, laughing at her reference to pie and trying to hide the emotion that pressed in. This shimmery pulse that throbbed and vibrated, stretching out spindly fingers to find purchase in those secret places. Those places that were reserved for when it was right.
For when you just knew.
“So are you two like, together, together?” Lillith asked.
“Yeah.” As soon as I said it, those questions brimmed. Ones that hovered around the darkness that would dim his eyes.
“What?” she pressed.
Uneasy, I hesitated, hoping I wasn’t sharing something with them that would upset Rex. But I didn’t know who else to turn to. Because when I truly thought about it, it scared me.
“His ex-wife . . .” I blinked, choked around the words. “I don’t know if he’s over her.”
Just the thought gutted me.
A hollow, vacant space that radiated pain. He said he hated her. But there was so much pain around it, it made me itch.
“That bitch didn’t deserve either of them.” Nearly every word that came from Nikki’s mouth was light, filled with a tease and the easy way she looked at life. Not this. It was hard. A little bit bitter.
I hated the idea of crossing a line. Invading his privacy by asking for details he hadn’t offered.
But there was an ugly part of me that was shrouded in doubt. Turned out, old insecurities were hard to ditch. “What was she like?” I’d barely managed the choppy question when my attention caught on a big white truck that passed us, did a U-Turn, and pulled to a rumbling stop at the curb beside us.
“Holy shit,” Nikki mouthed, laughing under her breath. “Is that actually Rex Gunner? Looks like you’re not the only one who’s done for.”
My heart surged to my throat when both passenger side windows glided down. Rex slanted me an almost shy smile that was every kind of sexy from the driver’s seat, that expression alone seeping into my spirit and finding a home.
From the backseat, Frankie waved frantically. Milo on her lap, yipping as he tried to paw his way out the window to get to me.
“We’s goin’ on a picnic, Rynna! You wants to come?” Frankie shouted.
Rex had offered to keep an eye on Milo for me when I was getting ready to leave this morning, claiming Frankie would love to see him when he picked her up this morning from her grandma’s.
Wasn’t that a sign? It had to be. I soared on it.
“It was all Frankie’s idea,” Rex said, voice gruff. The sound raked my skin and brought up chills. “She wants to spend the day at the lake, and we thought maybe you and Milo might want to join us.”
“We gots all the food, Rynna, but we ain’t gots no Pepper Pies. Is that okay?”