Dirty Kisses (6 page)

My eyes enlarge at the thought of her wily sister putting me on “set it and forget it” mode and nary bothering to return my texts. Actually, she did. Caila sent a rather irritating message, brief and to the point much like her—
we’ll talk.

“Let’s just say I sort of fell into the situation without meaning to.” I can’t believe I’m covering for the princess of the pole. Quite frankly, I’m shocked none of my friends have done the Stilettos plus Caila Jace math.

“Never mind that.” Scarlett threads her arm through mine and scoots in with her red hair bouncing between us like flames. “Move back into the dorm. I miss you.”

“Are you nuts? It’s bad enough I’m out in quasi-public with you.” I duck a little to better shield myself in the sea of faux green. Those stalkarazzi are sneaky little suckers. The female versions have followed me into the restroom twice, asking questions and not about toilet paper. “That’s sweet of you, but there’s no way I’m gunning to kill both of our legal careers before they ever get started. The Internet holds no secrets.”

Cassidy winces because she knows how right I am.

“My name and likeness are now available for every future employer to Google until kingdom come.” My voice breaks as I say it. “Face it, I’ve been branded the
Bologna Bopper
. Senator Dingleberry is officially tied around my neck like a sexual millstone, and I’ve sunk. There’s no recuperating from this.”

“You seem rather accepting.” Piper leans in, suspicious, as if I’m trying to hide something.

“I’m not accepting any of it. Believe me, if I do accept any of this bull, you’ll find me in a fetal position sucking my thumb.”

Cassidy sniffs back tears, and the wound in my heart lances right back open at the sight. Here I am, undone by my own rotten circumstances, and she’s taking the emotional bullet. I want to weep right along with her, but once I start I won’t know how the hell to stop.

“Is Jet okay—you know, with you staying there?” she says it so sweetly, her Tennessee accent so thick, I just want to linger in it all night long.

“He seems to be fine with it.” More than fine. That boy should write every last one of my pink parts a thank you letter.

Piper narrows her eyes to slits. “Is he taking good care of you?”

“Oh, he’s taking care of me all right.” I swallow hard as memories of that dirty, luscious fucking run through my mind. That sounds so crude a part of me wants to shudder, but, really, I’m pretty sure there’s no other way to describe what happened last night. “He’s made sure my needs come first.” Quite literally.

Scarlett nods, resigned to the fact she’s been replaced as my roomie with over two hundred pounds of muscular Sheetrock. “Well, if you need anything, we’re here for you.”

“Thank you. But I’m a little sick of having the spotlight. Tell me anything to get my mind off of this. What’s new with you guys?”

Scarlett sheds a greedy grin. “Rex and I actually managed to get two classes together, which makes me unreasonably happy. If you would have told me a year ago Rex and I would be where we are now, I would have happily used your likeness for target practice. It’s surreal how you can go from literally disliking someone—strongly—to realizing your feelings were just misplaced. It’s insanity.” She hardens her eyes over mine a moment as if sending a personal message, and I laugh.

“Don’t get any ideas about that walking beef on a stick and me. That boy is a mechanical horse any girl can ride for less than a quarter.” I try to laugh off those heated memories of last night, but they just keep coming in jags, getting me hot and bothered in all the wrong places.
Don’t fight it.
My face heats like the surface of the sun at the memory.

Scarlett inches back in surprise. “I’m not the one who brought up Jet. You are.” She gives a little wink.

“How about you, Cass?” I refuse to give that tat-rat another ounce of energy. “You get anything with Cade?”

“Nope. But he’s promised to help me with a few of my business classes. He’s the greatest tutor ever. Those study sessions at his place really do end with a bang.” She pulls her straw from her drink and flicks me in the face with the remnants of her iced mocha. “As for you—don’t go banging up your new roomie, hon. You’re too emotionally raw. That boy might be offering rides for less than a quarter, but your heart is worth a million times more. Resist temptation, my sister. Jet Madden is known for one thing among the ladies, and I’ll give you a hint. It has nothing to do with those designer tats he’s doling out down at Think Ink. Don’t add insult to injury. According to Cade, that boy isn’t looking for a relationship. He’s in full fucking mode—pardon my French—and I’d hate to see you get caught up in the sticky web of his mattress. Do both your heart and your body a favor. Resist temptation. Stay strong, girl.”

“Oh, I will.” Starting tonight. God, I’m such an idiot. Cassidy is right. I’ve fallen into Jet Madden’s sticky-icky mattress web. God, were the sheets even clean? Disgusting. How could I be so weak?

Piper squirms in her seat. “Well, my classes are great. Owen and I actually have a class together, too, so that’s pretty cool. What’s not cool is the fact his little sister, Ava, is outright trying to avoid me. I saw her in the bookstore, and she literally ducked behind a shelf and made a clean getaway. Owen thinks the best thing I can do is give her some breathing room.”

“I’m on it.” I lift a finger. “I’ve always wanted a little sister. I just know I can be a good influence on her.”

All six pairs of eyes stare agog at my ridiculous declaration.

“What I mean is, I can give great advice when it comes to boys. Believe it or not, I’m quite conservative.”

Again, all eyes feast on me as if I’ve just sprouted horns and a tail, and I may as well have. Dancing at Stilettos? Dating the senator for dollars—through what might amount to a hooker hookup no less? Taking a ride on the Jet Madden Orgasm Express? Yes, it is safe to say I’m quite conservative—when it comes to making good decisions.

We finish up by way of depressing ourselves with the sheer amount of papers we need to write this semester before we formally disband to the four corners of the Earth.

Cassidy is the last to leave, and I pull her back by the sleeve a moment. “Hey, how’s your sister doing?” It requires far more of my superpowers than anticipated to project those words in a civilized manner.

“She’s great!” Her eyes light up at the mention of her lookalike. “She’s got a new routine down at the club, and I’m just dying to see it. Maybe we could make a night of it sometime.”

Cassidy’s support of her sister baring both of their physical assets is the epitome of unconditional love. For most people, a stripping sister would be a dirty skeleton in the familial closet. And that’s exactly what I’ve been to my own family, minus the closet. My dirty little skeleton is rattling around in the open for all to see. I’ve become a grievous wound to my family, one that may never ever heal.

“I think I’ll just go down there soon on my own.” There’s no way Caila is going to fess up to any wrongdoing in front of Cassidy. “Hopefully, they’ll let me get a few hours in.”

“They will.” She pulls me into a brief hug before taking off. “It’ll all work out. I promise!” she shouts as she hits the exit.

I’d like to think so, but Cassidy’s Mary Sunshine attitude can only get me so far. Reality has me by the ugly jagged teeth and has no intention of ever letting go.

I sit back down and scroll through my text messages. There’s one from Tiffany Ikeman—not a group message this time—and my ears pique with both interest and fear. Tiffany approached both Scarlett and me last month about joining the WB Legal Eagles, a pre-law fun club that’s supposed to look great on our law school apps.

Been thinking about your inclusion. I’m sorry, but it might be a bit of a distraction.

“No, no, no!” Crap. Why should I back down from my life when, last I checked, the senator is back to corroding Washington politics?

A text from my oldest brother, Nelson.
Keep your chin up, kid. Focus on school. Avoid the radar, and stay the hell out of trouble.
It’ll be okay. Jonas says hello.

Right. Jonas also used the F word in a text to me earlier and told me to lay low for the next four years. Nelson always was one to paint a rosier picture than necessary. A kind endeavor on his part.

And one message from a number with an area code outside of Hollow Brook. Is this the same one from earlier?
I mean it.
If you ever need anyone to talk to, I’m here for you.

Huh. Right. But still, probably the press.

I text right back. Second verse same as the first.
Fuck off, asshole!

No sooner do I get up to leave than I bump into a familiar freshman brunette. “Ava! I’m not sure if you remember me, but I’m Owen’s friend.” Technically, I’m Piper’s friend, but there’s no way I’m even mentioning my hotheaded buddy. “You look so much like your brother it’s just crazy.” Crazy seems to be the theme of this new school year in general.

She offers a complacent smile before heading to the counter and putting in her order.

“Hey, you wouldn’t happen to have a minute to do a quick sit-down, would you? I used to be a part of the Alpha Chi sorority before they disbanded, and we had a little sister program going that I’m still pretty active in.” Lies, all lies, I tell you, but I’m pretty determined to turn this shitty semester around, and if befriending Owen’s little sister is the only way I can do it, then so be it.

“That’s very nice of you, but I have a big sister.” She accepts her coffee before taking a careful sip. “She’s in prison for murder one. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” She finds a seat at the nearest table, and I plop down opposite her.

“I know all about your sister.” Sadly, this is true. It’s horrific what Aubree Vincent did, pushing that poor girl off a cliff, then trying to cover it up as a suicide. She tried to kill Baya, the waitress from the Black Bear, too. Just the thought gives me the shivers. “I’m really sorry.”

“And I know all about
you
.” Her brows twitch as she pulls out her phone and proceeds to ignore me.

“Yes, well, everyone seems to know about me these days. I’ve pretty much screwed myself over for life, or at least at the moment.” The thought of my own weighted reality takes over, and the last place I want to be is anywhere. Suddenly, I’m far too dejected to be anybody’s cheerleader. For sure, I don’t qualify as a life coach. “That whole little sister thing is just a joke,” I say weakly. “I could never be anybody’s role model.” Tears come and blur my vision. “For sure, I’m no mentor. Trust me, whatever I do, you’ll want to do the opposite.”

Those serious eyes of hers narrow over me with concern, and now it’s me standing to make a break for it.

“Wait!” She pulls me back into my seat, and I see her for the first time like a person, not some sibling extension of Owen. Ava is cute with her cherry-stained lips and overdrawn eyes. Her dark hair lies thick and long over her shoulders in simple waves. She offers a spontaneous, yet pained smile, exposing a double row of tiny pearly white teeth. Ava is the quintessential little sister, and something in my heart melts for her as if she were my own relation. “I know how you feel. Well, a little. I mean, it must be pretty shitty for the entire world to know what you’ve done. And you gotta figure crap like that will stink up your future for some time to come.”

“Yes.” I give a furtive nod because she totally gets me in a way that not even my friends were able to articulate moments before.

“The good news is, you didn’t kill anyone. So prison is off the short list of places you’ll be.” She gives a sly wink, and a dry laugh rumbles through me. “With me, I’ve always been known as the killer’s sister. I’ve never been Ava. And now, here I am at the same university my big brother is at, and suddenly I’m Owen’s little sister.” She shakes her head while losing her gaze out the darkened window. “I guess I thought I would finally get a chance to be Ava for once.”

“Oh, sweetie!” I pull her into a warm hug, and she doesn’t fight it. Ava pats my back as if she were hugging me right back to let me know she’s here for me. I stand and cinch my backpack over my shoulder. “Maybe somehow you and I can muddle through this next semester? You can learn to be you, and I can learn to dodge the press and stay out of old men’s laps.” I lean in. “Not a thing they said was true.” My mouth opens to say something else, and nothing comes out. “Okay, a few of the things they said were true, but that’s neither here nor there.” We share a quick laugh as I head for the exit. “If you see me around, don’t be a stranger!”

“I won’t!” she shouts back like she means it.

A part of me feels guilty for pigeonholing her as Owen’s little sister—as Aubree Vincent’s little sister. I’m just now discovering how it feels to live under a huge ominous shadow—that of my own.

Who knew I would turn out to be my biggest curse?

T
he house is
dark except for the television winking in a morbid rainbow in the living room. Not surprisingly, Jet Madden’s television is as large as both his dick and his ego. I suppose that’s a compliment and an insult rolled all into one, but he sort of deserved both.