Eliza Jane - Tempted

I answer in a tight nod, not wanting to discuss this with MJ and Logan. MJ is barely okay with me dating Colt as it is. I don’t want to give her any more ammunition against him. But I’ll talk to Reis about this later, I’m sure. He was such a good listener on our run this morning. I release a deep sigh and settle into the booth against this arm.

MJ’s mouth twitches, watching us. “So Boyfriend Junior, um, I mean Reis.” She smirks. “What are you doing tonight?”

He chuckles and slides his arm from behind me, moving his hands to his lap. “Whatever Taylor wants. Colt says I’m in charge of watching her.”

“No one’s in charge of me,” I stipulate.

“Wow, you two are unconvincing,” MJ mutters, setting down her menu. “Well Logan and I decided that tonight will be a perfect fall night for a bonfire out by the old barn. You guys in?”

“We’re in,” Reis confirms before I have the chance to answer.

I shoot him a look.

“What? You need to relieve some stress, Shrimp. Trust me, okay?”

I nod my agreement.

Later that night, MJ and I get ready for the party along with most of the other second year girls in the bathrooms. The atmosphere is alive with energy. Colt, the head of the school is away, McAllister’s long gone and so it’s just Vera, and she stays pretty busy getting the first years settled, which means more freedom and less oversight of us.

A pair my low slung jeans with sandals and one of my comfy fitted long sleeve tees, adding just minimal makeup to finish my look, and then wait while MJ applies coat after coat of black mascara.

We gather up Logan and Reis from the common room where they’re playing video games. Reis is dressed in the same dark jeans he had on earlier, but I recognize the sweatshirt he’s wearing as one of Colt’s. It’s heather gray and stretches across his chest, just like it does on Colt. And I know from experience it’s soft and worn.

We follow the low hum of conversation and laughter across the field and when we round the barn, the bonfire comes into view. The second year guys have lit a roaring blaze that reaches up for the cloudless sky.

I waste no time grabbing a drink with MJ, just wanting to numb myself from all the annoyances. Colt hasn’t called today. I know if I complain to MJ she’ll tell me the same thing she did earlier this week. That if I’m worried, I should hack into his emails and see for myself if anything shady is going on. I told her that I’d never do that, but now that I’m a few drinks in, it doesn’t sound like the world’s worst idea. It may even calm my nerves to see with my own eyes what his email exchanges with Bria are like. On my third cup of jungle juice, Reis removes the cup from my hand.

“Come on, I think you’ve had enough to drink. I’m taking you back.”

“No, stay with me!” I grab his sweatshirt, forcing him closer.

He chuckles in response. “Colt’ll have my balls if I let you get too drunk and sick. Come on, Shrimp.”

“You’re no fun, Reis Palmer.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know.” He steers me by the shoulders toward the open field. “Think you can make it back?”

“Mm hmm,” I hiccup.

He laughs and signals to MJ that we’re leaving. She gives us a strange smile and a wave.

Reis holds my hand all the way back to the school, intertwining our fingers. We fit together perfectly. Just like Colt and me. The thought of Colt sends a shockwave through my system, my stomach quivers in response.

I tug his hand. “I don’t feel so good.”

He faces me, lifting my chin to meet his eyes. I try to watch on his face, but it comes in and out of focus. “Shit,” he swears under his breath. “I shouldn’t have let you drink so much.” His eyes scan mine. “Do you drink like this with him?”

Him. Colt. I shake my head no.

He curses again. “Come on. I can’t have Vera finding you drunk. If you’re going to be sick tonight, you’ll have to stay with me in Colt’s room. I’ll take care of everything.”

He leads me up the stairs to Colt’s room and unlocks the door. When he flips on the lights, I let out a grunt and try to shield my eyes. He chuckles. “Okay, no lights.”

I sit on the bed and the room spins and tilts. I know I’m going to be sick, it’s just a matter of when. “Help me to the bathroom,” I mumble. It comes out sounding like melpmetobrom.

Reis lifts me from the bed and carries me into the bathroom, depositing me on the floor near the toilet. There’s something about sitting on the cool tile of a bathroom floor with the toilet at eye level that humbles you. I feel completely helpless. I close my eyes and breathe through my nose. I sense Reis is still standing next to me.

“Leave.” I wave him away. I don’t want him to see me get sick.

He takes a step back, and closes us both in the bathroom. Before I have time to deal with his presence, my stomach lurches violently and I heave over the toilet. I cough and sputter, and when I’m finally done, I realize that Reis is standing behind me, holding my hair away from my face.

“Are you done?” he whispers.

I lean my forehead against the toilet seat and whimper. My throat is raw, burnt to hell. I am never drinking again.

Reis lifts me up, and after making sure I’ll be steady, he reaches over and flushes the toilet. Ew. I don’t even want to know what it looked like in there. I had tacos for dinner and three big cups of jungle juice. My stomach lurches again, but I keep it under control.

“You got some, ah…” Reis motions to the front of my shirt, which has a wet spot of vomit staining the fabric.

I lift my arms over my head, and without another word, Reis peels the shirt from my body. After helping me brush my teeth, he steers me to Colt’s bed.

He pulls down the covers while I peel off my jeans. I should feel embarrassed standing in front of Reis in just a pair of panties and my bra, but those feelings are strangely absent. He has a calming effect on me. He helps me into one of Colt’s oversized T-shirts and then into bed.

I expect him lay down next to me, but he gathers up an extra pillow and heads to the other side of the room.

“Wait. Reis…” I reach my arm out for him. “Don’t go.”

His eyes devour my bare legs. “What do you want?” His low voice washes over me. It’s so similar to Colt’s it makes my insides clench.

“I want…I want…” I reach for him again. “I don’t want to be alone.”

His eyes rake over me, stopping on my outstretched hand. “So I’m second best when you can’t have the guy you want?” His voice is soft, just a whisper.

I stay quiet. I can’t deny the truth in his words. But somehow I know he won’t leave.

Reis lets out a long sigh. “You don’t have to make up an excuse to ask me to hold you. You’re my brother’s girl. Which practically makes you mine to look after while he’s gone. Come here. Let me hold you.”

He strips off his shirt and jeans, and wearing just his boxer briefs, climbs in beside me.

I smile and snuggle into his chest, breathing in his scent. It’s different than Colt’s, but masculine and comforting just the same.

“Colt?” I yawn.

“It’s Reis, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

I mentally thump myself on the forehead. “Oh yeah, I mean Reis. Thanks for taking care of me.”

“Shh. Just sleep. If this is all I can get from you, I’ll take it. Colt is a damn lucky bastard.”

I know it’s bad to use him this way, but he doesn’t seem to mind either.

I let his calming breaths whisper over the back of my neck. However we rationalize this to ourselves, I know it’s borderline inappropriate. Reis would like there to be something more between us, and I’m simply filling a void in Colt’s absence. But that last thought before I drift to sleep doesn’t stop me from cuddling in closer to Reis’s arms, letting him pull me firmly to his chest.

Colt

“Come on, we can’t be late.” I pound on Bria’s door once more.

“Keep your pants on, we won’t be late,” she calls from the other side of the door.

The pace the room, checking the time on my phone once again. We can’t screw this up. The door flies open several minutes later and though I expected her to come out wearing a cocktail dress or something equally revealing, she’s in a crisp tailored suit covering pretty much every inch of her. I frown. “You’re wearing that?” I should remind her that Geoffrey is a red-blooded male and her usual attire should be more than fine, but deciding there’s no time for her to change, I keep quiet and guide her out the door.

When we arrive, we’re ushered into Geoffrey’s office where he profusely compliments Bria’s designer suit. I quickly learn two things: One, Geoffrey is definitely gay, and two, she’s wearing some big deal British designer’s vintage collection. Hm. I guess she’s done her research on Geoffrey.

Bria is utterly calm and collected, carefully advancing the discussions in just the direction we want. I look between her and Geoffrey. He appears spell bound by Bria. I’ve seen that look before. We have him. I can practically see us inking the deal. This is why I brought Bria. She’s captivating and hard to say no to. The perfect combination of beauty and intelligence that had men, and women for that matter falling at her feet, vying to please her. And Geoffrey is no exception. Things are falling right into place.

I lean back in my spot and relax a little, letting Bria take over.

After talking over all the basics, Geoffrey introduces us to his nephew, Liam who appears closer to our age. He’ll be giving us the details of the case we’ll work for them for the next few weeks. He’s dressed in a suit, well-mannered and when he speaks , Bria’s mouth quirks up at his polished British accent and I know she’s interested in more than just business dealings with him. And when he suggests we all have dinner tonight, his eyes are on Bria and I know he’s interested too.

Great. I don’t want anything getting in the way of this deal. And I know first-hand just the trouble Bria can bring, and the drama that’s sure to follow.

* * *

I wake up hung over and struggling to remember how I got into my bed last night. I’m lying across it diagonally, still fully clothed. I look down and wiggle my toes that hang off the end of the bed, at least I managed to remove my shoes. I grab the bottle of water on the side table and take a deep swig, then let my head fall back against the pillow.

After working all through the day, Bria and I went to dinner with Liam and Geoffrey. We ended up at a pub later with Liam and his rugby buddies. Bria loved the attention from being one of the sole females in the pub. And we stayed until closing time. I remember walking back arm in arm drunkenly through the streets signing the victory song of the rugby team. I check my phone. It’s already noon. I’ve missed two calls from Taylor. I try to remember the last time I talked to her. Yesterday? Shit.

Her last text says Where are u?

Crap. I might as well call her back before she starts to worry. I wait while it rings. “Hello?’ her voice comes through scratchy.

“Taylor?” It barely sounds like her.

“Yeah,” she growls.

“What happened, baby? Are you alright?”

She lets out a deep breath. “I’m fine now. I had a little bit too much to drink last night. But Reis took care of me.”

“Oh. Good. I mean, I’m glad he was there to take care of you. Did you get sick?”

“Mm hmm. I passed out in your bed after.”

I want to ask her where Reis slept, but I know I can trust them both.

“Colt, you alive in here?” Bria calls, flinging my bedroom door open as she enters.

I muffle the phone with my hand. “You need to knock, Bria. I’m on the phone.”

“Well last night got kind of crazy, so I just wanted to check on you. Did you sleep in that?” she chuckles.

My jaw clenches. She knows she’s getting me in trouble with Taylor, and she doesn’t care. She shrugs and leaves the room, closing the door behind her.

“Sorry about that,” I mumble, pressing the phone to my ear.

“Was that her?” she asks, her voice tight.

“Yeah, she just…came in. Sorry.”

“Colt, if she just comes in your bedroom without knocking, I’d say you created a pretty damn comfortable environment there with her. You could’ve been naked.”

“I’m not.” I try to lighten the mood. “But I could get naked if you want.”

“Not funny. What was she talking about? You guys had a crazy night?”

I sit up in bed, my head spinning until my feet touch the floor. “Taylor. You have to trust me. Bria probably heard me on the phone and just wants to get a rise out of you. She’d love for you to be mad at me, and then for me to come complain to her. Let’s not let that happen. Don’t let her drive anything between us. We worked all day on the case and then our clients took us out to dinner. She’s into this guy Liam, and I talked to some of his friends about rugby. That’s all.”