Connected (51 page)

Lifting the boxes out of the car, I turn to her and grin, “If you’d have told me at the beginning of this conversation that punishment was an option, we wouldn’t be standing here right now emptying your trunk.”

She pushes me forward and grabs some boxes herself as I follow her up the stairs, staring at her beautiful ass in her jeans.

I set the games onto the counter and I turn around, holding one of the boxes. “I’ll only play Monopoly if you play by my rules.”

Putting her hands on her hips, she raises an eyebrow. “And River, what rules would those be? Has Milton Bradley called you with a new set? Because as far as I know, the rules haven’t changed since the game was invented.”

Shooting her my most wicked grin, I set the game down and pull out my phone. Holding it out to her I answer, “Dahlia, as a matter of fact, I got a text this morning from Milton himself informing me of one new rule.”



Smirking as she walks closer to me, she places her hands on my shoulders and looks right into my eyes. “First of all, I’m pretty sure Milton himself died over a hundred years ago.” She runs her fingers down my arms and holds my hands. “And second of all, only because I’m insanely curious and like to keep up with game changes, what might this new rule be?” she asks in her most seductive tone.

“
You don’t know beautiful girl?”



“
Kind sir, if I knew, I wouldn’t have to ask. Would I?”


she asks while fluttering her eyes using that cute southern accent she uses when she tries to cover up trying to be a smart-ass.

I clutch her hands tightly, pull her right up to me, and whisper into her ear, “Every time you pass go, instead of collecting two hundred dollars, you have to take something off.”

“
Oh,” she says, biting her lip as she takes the game from the counter and heads to the kitchen table pulling the cellophane off the box. Sitting down, she flashes her irresistibly sexy smile and winks at me as she sets up to play our first game of Strip Monopoly.

Dahlia decided not to move back into her house. She packed up the rest of her things and has contractors making repairs so she can put it back on the market. We haven’t talked about her long-term living arrangements since the day of the break-in, but she knows I want her to stay here with me. She’s here most of the time anyway but hasn’t said anything about wanting to move in with me on a more permanent basis.

She’s so determined to stay with Grace; she makes it a point to go back there at least every other night. Even last night, after we’d finished our little game of Strip Monopoly, she insisted on going back home to Laguna Beach. I’m not sure why she feels the need to do this, but I go with it because it works for her and it’s not like I’m unhappy. I’d just be happier if she moved in with me.

We’ve spent almost every day over the past three weeks together having a blast. Since Dahlia isn’t working right now, and I’m waiting for Xander to iron out the band's signing contract, we've just been roaming around town and having fun with each other. At first, we picked up a few essentials for the house including a kitchen table and pots and pans, but lately we spend our days running, hiking, going to The Grove to watch movies, to the arcade to play around, or to different restaurants for lunch. Sometimes we walk along Hollywood Boulevard and other times we just hang out here at home. Most nights, she comes with me to rehearsals and then we go out with Aerie or meet up with the guys.

Regardless of what we do, Dahlia and I usually end up leaving early because I just can’t keep my hands off her sexy little body. I can tell she feels the same, and it’s become a game to see who can hold out the longest before we have to leave. Regardless of who wins, making it all the way home has become a challenge and we’ve found some fun and interesting things to do on the way.

Tomorrow is Dahlia's birthday. I’m so stoked to celebrate the day with her, so when Bell asked if she could pull together a small party tonight, I told her yes.

Dahlia is on her way here from Laguna Beach with Aerie, and I just walked in the door. I ran out to pick up her present and was hoping Bell would wrap it for me, but as I look around at the chaos that is my house, I think it might have to stay in the brown paper wrapping.

Bell’s entourage is following her into the house with loads of party items as she’s barking orders. Shaking my head, all I can do is grin. I should have known better. She points to the table as Garrett trails behind her. “Watch out!” she yells as he sets a bag full of cups and plates on the table. “If you so much as smear a speck of icing on that cake, your ass will be banned from this party!”

“
Dude, your sister is so bossy,” he says, looking at me.

She’s unloading box after box as platters of food fill the kitchen counters, alcohol bottles line the bar where the stools are, and a giant purple cake in the shape of a flower sits on the kitchen table.

Leaning over the bar, I’m watching the craziness unfold. Bell walks through the kitchen gripping dozens of purple balloons by their white strings.

“
Bell, you’ve got to be kidding me!”

She’s smiling, looking very pleased with herself as she ties the balloons to the kitchen cabinet handles. “What? She loves purple!”

“
No not the color, Bell. This,” I wave my hand around the room. “A huge blowout party isn’t what I agreed to. It wasn’t part of the deal.”

She swings her head around to look at me. “Deal? What deal? You said I could throw a party, and that’s what I’m doing. Now don’t be such a party-pooper!”

She’s got an annoying smirk on her face, and I’m losing patience fast. “Do you ever even listen to what you say? You said a small, get-to-know-each-other’s-friends kind of a party, and this isn’t that!”

I should’ve known better than to think she could ever plan anything on a small scale. Everything she does is over the top.

“
River! Don’t yell at me! Got it? I’m doing this for you. For your new girlfriend, my new friend, and you should be appreciative about it. Not an asshole!”

Then pointing her finger at me she continues, “And yell at me again, I’m so telling Mom.”

Shaking my head, I just apologize so we can move on. “I’m sorry Bell, darling,” I say in a drawn out mock tone. “Really, we’re a little old to threaten to tell Mom, aren’t we?” Then I remember I wanted to ask her something.

“
And by the way, how do you even know Dahlia likes purple?” I, myself, have no idea if she likes it or not.

She gloats for a few seconds before answering. “River really,” she says in a rather tsk-tsk tone. “She’s named after a flower, and everyone knows Dahlias are purple.”

“
Bell, are you drunk?" I have to ask this because that has to be one of the dumbest things she has ever said, and now my annoyance is back.

She frowns, “Nooo River, I’m not. Are you?”

I can’t even answer her, so I just shake my head and inhale deeply.

She starts uncovering plates of food and is setting them on the bar when she notices me glaring at her.

Pointing my finger at her, I say, “I’m blaming you if she’s mad.”

“
Why will she be mad? Everyone loves a birthday party!” She gives me her biggest, brightest smile before yelling, “Garrett, where are the other trays of food?”

“
I’m getting them. Just wait a second Bell!”

“
Well hurry up, stop taking your sweet ass time!”

I’m not finding any of this party prep crap amusing, especially since I’m not sure how Dahlia’s going to take it. Just thinking about it again pisses me off.

“
Mother fucker!” I hear coming from behind me as static and a loud piercing sound amplify through the speakers. Turning around, I see Nix has unplugged the sound system and is attempting to connect a mixer board to it.

“
What the fuck are you doing?”

Smirking at me, he points his chin at Bell. “She wanted a DJ setup.”

“
A DJ? For what? Why? This isn’t a fucking dance club!”

Shrugging his shoulders, Nix rolls his eyes and points to Bell as he continues to mess with the sound system like he knows what he’s doing.

“
Bell!” I yell, my patience with her running very low.

She comes around the bar and pulls me by the arm away from Nix.

Something clings to my head as she opens the sliding glass doors. The balloons are in my face and so is Bell.

“
You,” she says, handing me the white strings. “Cut the shit and start helping.”

I can tell by her tone she’s had enough, so I decide to cut her some slack and see what sort of great job she has in store for me. It’s cool that she did all of this, but all I really wanted was a small get-together for the evening. I figured we'd sing Happy Birthday, eat some cake, the guests would leave, and then I'd get some alone time with my birthday girl.

Clearly that's not the plan now, so inhaling a deep breath, I look at my sister and raise my hands in surrender. “What do you need me to do?”

Glancing around, I see Xander busy sucking face with some chick he brought with him.

“
See all these balloons tied together? They need to be untied and strung around the chairs.”

“
Chairs?” I question because I only own the chairs around the outdoor table, and there are way more balloons than chairs.

Pinching my chin, she turns my head down toward the pool. “Those chairs, the ones you’re going to unfold and put around thooooose tables.” She points to a stacked pile of round tables over at the other side of the pool.

“
Just how many people did you invite?” I have to ask because there are a lot of fucking tables and chairs down there.

Pacing back and forth between the party that is now in full swing and the empty dining room, I continue to look out the window. She should’ve been here over an hour ago.

Earlier, we exchanged a few texts:

Aerie has issues with my clothing choices and insists we make

a stop on the way. Be there shortly
:)

Maybe it should’ve been a clothing optional party
;)

Hopefully later it will be
. ;) <3