Perfectly Toxic (The Sterling Shore Series Book 9) (5 page)

Almost reluctantly, he drops it, and I move away from him the second he gives me an opening. That vulnerable look is gone again when he opens his eyes.

He backs away, grinning while winking at me.

“You have my number. Use it, Bella.”

I dart out of the locker room like I can’t get away fast enough, hating myself the entire time as my palms tingle with the lingering feel of his skin against them. Worst. Decision. Ever.

Now he’ll never get out of my head.

Chapter 7

ETHAN

“The hell is wrong with you?” I rip open my pants, sighing in relief when the constricting material finally gives way and drops to my ankles. “Go the hell down!”

Instead, the bastard throbs. Of course it does. I swear she slipped me something without me knowing it. This. Is. Not. Normal!

After not being able to feel anything but surprise touches for so long, now I can’t
stop
feeling things since the gym encounter, and it’s pissing me the hell off.

A gentle brush of my jeans? Feel it. The soft texture of my boxers? Feel it. The shirt on my back? Feel it. I feel every-fucking-thing, and it’s really pissing me off, when all I’ve wanted is for my feeling to be back for years.

Thirty minutes. I’ve been in pain for over thirty minutes. Because of a little cat-and-mouse with barely any touching? How did this backfire on me?

“What is wrong?” I demand, glaring at the betraying, wayward appendage that refuses to subside.

“Who the fuck are you talking to?”

Rye’s voice startles the hell out of me, and I jerk back, forgetting all about my damn pants being around my ankles. My breath seizes in my lungs when I feel airborne, falling, and a grunt is pounded out of me as I slam into the floor.

This is officially the worst day ever.

“Ah, he’s talking to his dick, apparently,” Kode—Why is Kode here?—says. “Been there. It sucks.”

I glare down the length of my body, seeing the douche who has the audacity to act amused right now with his pierced eyebrow arched at me. Kode is beside him, daring to look equally amused.

“What the hell are you two doing in my house?” I snap.

“It’s poker night,” Wren says. Where the hell did he come from?

I look over, and sure enough, Wren Prize is looking at me from across the room, a smirk on his lips like he’s enjoying the fact I look like a jackass right now.

I stumble up to my feet, cursing my pants as I pull them back up my legs. At least the damn hard-on is gone now.

“You really talking to your—”

“How did you assholes get in?” I ask, interrupting Rye before this gets any more awkward than it already is.

Isn’t this a reoccurring nightmare that people have? It will be now.

“We have the entry code to your door,” Tag says, walking in from the den.

What is this? Hell?

Yes it is. And it’s all her fault. Fucking toxic. That’s definitely what she is. Damn her for touching me the first time. Damn her for being in that hospital. Damn her for touching me again.

“I’ll be changing that code,” I growl.

“Anyone we know?” Kode drawls, ignoring my comment as they all follow me toward the den.

Definitely not telling them that.

“Let’s talk poker. Not girls,” I grumble.

“Dude, you were threatening your dick, so we need to hear about this girl,” Maverick—Are you fucking kidding me right now?—asks as I head toward the poker table, where’s he’s already sitting and grinning at me.

Apparently everyone is here and heard me cursing my dick. Awesome.

His phone chirps, and he bursts out laughing when he reads whatever text he’s gotten, which fortunately takes the attention off me.

“What?” Tag prompts, and Maverick types something in, then passes him the phone.

Tag just snorts and passes the phone along, and I watch as Kode reads it. He gives no expression, and I snatch it out of his hands.

Banana Girl: If you send me one more sphynx kitty picture, I’m going to lick your ass!

Maverick: Sounds kinky. Always wanted your tongue on my ass. Been a fantasy of mine for a while now.

The hell? Who is Banana Girl?

Before I can ask him questions, it chirps again, and I read the message like it’s my phone or something.

Banana Girl: KICK! I’m going to KICK your ass. You couldn’t pay me enough to lick your ass. Ewwww!

“Who the hell is that?” I ask when Wren tugs the phone from my hand, but I’ve got a bad feeling I already know. And it’s really going to piss me off if history is repeating itself.

“It’s Bella,” Maverick says around a laugh.

History is definitely repeating itself.

“What’s with the sphynx kitty pics she mentioned?” I ask, trying to sound only mildly interested, even though I’m clenching my fist under the poker table.

“She waxes her pussy. A sphynx cat is a hairless kitty. So, yeah. It’s a way to fuck with her,” he says, still laughing, and Rye snickers while shaking his head.

Wren snorts while handing Maverick back his phone, and I struggle not to snatch it back to see what he’s texting her. I’ve officially lost my motherfucking mind.

It’s Star Morgan and high school all over again, even though it’s nothing like that. I barely know Bella, which means I shouldn’t be getting worked up over this. Right?

So why am I still clenching my fists and seconds away from punching one of my friends for no reason?

“Are we going to play poker, or are you going to text your girl all day instead?” I ask, proud that there’s not an ounce of anger in my tone, because that’s really hard to do.

Maverick snickers again before putting his phone down, and he shakes his head. I’m vaguely aware of Wren’s eyes on me, but I don’t acknowledge him, knowing he’ll realize something is up.

“Not my girl. We’re just friends. She’s cool. You’ll meet her soon.”

I calm down just a little.

“So how do you know she waxes?” I ask as Tag starts dealing the cards. “And what’s with the Banana Girl name?”

Yeah, now I’m being obvious, but Mav doesn’t seem to notice.

“Long story,” he says, and the table bursts out into laughter, including Wren.

“I walked in on Bella giving Allie blowjob lessons on a banana,” Wren says through his chuckles, wiping his eyes when tears form. “Angel startled her, and she ended up choking on the banana. Allie had to give her the Heimlich.”

My anger vanishes completely, and I can’t stop myself from laughing. The mental image is arousing and hilarious at the same time, a combination I’ve never dealt with before.

“Oh, there’s so much more to tell,” Maverick goes on, and somehow poker night turns into Bella night.

It’s like she’s everywhere.

Chapter 8

BELLA

I’ve ignored the texts from Ethan for the past three days. But he hasn’t stopped sending them.

ETHAN: That party is tonight. You coming?

ETHAN: You missed my party. I guess you owe me something special to make up for it.

ETHAN: Why does it feel like you’re ignoring me?

ETHAN: Don’t make me find you, Bella. You embarrass too easily…

Ignoring his last warning that came a few minutes ago, I put my phone away before clocking out for the day. I board the elevator, riding up to the children’s ward, and step off the second the doors open.

I haven’t been in the mood to play games with Ethan. Especially since I don’t want to be playing games at all. I want someone serious. Ethan is a frat boy in a man’s body.

Taking a deep breath, all thoughts of Ethan vanish, and I walk into a room where my favorite patient beams up at me. Even though he’s not actually my patient.

“Bella! You came!” Daniel says, smiling as I come to sit beside him on the bed.

“Of course I did.”

At eleven, he’s had to deal with a hell of a lot, and he’s a great kid who always manages to smile, despite the hellish road he’s been on for the past eight months.

“Where’s your mom?” I ask him, looking around the empty room that normally has at least one of his parents in it.

“She’s in the cafeteria getting me some more ice cream,” he says with a smile.

“Well, good. Then she won’t get mad that I brought you more of these.”

I pull off my backpack and open it up, handing him the magazines full of racecars. His eyes widen, and his smile only grows. Considering a car accident put him in this bed, his mother hates him loving a fast vehicle. But it’s one of the things he loves and makes him giddy, so she allows it. As long as it’s just in a picture and not for real.

“Thank you!”

He hugs me tightly around the waist, and I chuckle while hugging him back. Turning my head, I see Marcy stepping off the elevator, and her watery eyes meet mine. That’s not good. I was hoping I was going to see a smile on her face today.

“Hey, kiddo, let me go talk to your mom for a second, okay?” I ask, pulling back as Daniel opens up his magazine.

“Yeah. Okay,” he says, already disinterested in me as he flips the pages.

I smile while stepping away, but that smile slips when I reach Marcy.

“They can’t do the operation,” she says on a sigh, as though she couldn’t possibly say anything else first.

“What? Why the hell not? Dr. Kates said the operation wasn’t a life-threatening procedure. Daniel is already facing the worst consequence without going under the knife,” I whisper-yell.

A tear falls from her eye, and she nods.

“They said they could do it, but our insurance won’t pay for it. It’s considered an elective procedure that could result in permanent paralysis. He’ll be permanently paralyzed if they don’t risk the surgery, but the insurance found a loophole to keep from shoveling out the money we need. There’s no way we can afford the surgery. The specialists for this procedure would cost over two hundred thousand dollars, and we’re barely affording our rent as it is.”

“There are tons of hospital charity funds for things like this,” I tell her, taking an easier breath. Money can be handled, as long as they do the surgery.

“No, there’s not. Those funds are allocated to children who need life-saving measures,” she says around a choked wad of emotion. “I can’t even be upset because I feel selfish for wanting to take away from a child who may need it to keep breathing just so my son can walk. How screwed up is that? I feel guilty for wanting my kid to walk.”

She wipes away a tear, and I pull her to me, hugging her, trying to give her comfort the only way I can. My eyes roam over the board behind her head, and they settle on the hospital charity event coming up this weekend.

Everyone who is anyone will be there. It’s a Sterling Shore elite event, and my wheels start turning.

“I’ll get the funding, Marcy,” I promise, leaning back. “Trust me.”

She almost looks scared to be hopeful, but she cracks a watery smile. “You’ve already done so much, Bella. It’s because of you he even got to see that specialist without them charging us for a consultation. We’ll figure out something. Hopefully.”

“Not soon enough. This isn’t a surgery that can wait any longer. I promise I’ll get the funding this weekend. Okay?”

She still doesn’t look convinced, but she doesn’t know just how determined I can be.

“I should get back to Daniel. Are you coming?” she asks, motioning toward him with her head. “I haven’t told him what they said, and I don’t plan to just yet.”

I shake my head. “Go ahead. I need to make some calls.”

She walks away, and Berta comes up beside me.

“Girl, I couldn’t help but overhear. You gonna hit up Allie’s rich boy for those funds?”

I shake my head while pulling out my phone.

“I never ask for favors like that.”

“It wouldn’t be a favor for you. Besides, Wren Prize donates money to charity all the time. I’m sure he’d do it if he heard Daniel’s story and knew he had a chance at walking again as long as someone paid the bills. Besides, you let Corbin get you your job back. That’s a favor.”

I lower my phone and look at her, giving her all my attention.

“Wren, along with every other rich person in the world, hears a thousand heartbreaking stories daily. They have to pick and choose what charities to donate to, because they can’t save the whole world, Berta. If I told him Daniel’s story, he’d feel obligated to take care of the costs, but not just because the story is heartbreaking. But because I was asking. I’ll never owe anyone anything. The only reason I even let Corbin Sterling get my job back for me is because I never should have been fired in the first place, and it was his choice to right a wrong. No favors allowed.”

She tuts like I’m crazy before walking off, and I pick my phone up, dialing the Sterling who is most tied to the hospital. Corbin answers a little hesitantly.

“Bella?” he asks, almost as if he’s confused by the fact I’m calling.

“Yeah, hey, how does someone get tickets to one of the Sterling Memorial charity events?”

“Um… Buy a plate? I don’t know. I usually just donate but don’t attend too often. Why?”

“How much is a plate?”

“Fuck, I don’t know. Depends on who is helping host it. Could be a thousand dollars a plate or it could be thirty thousand a plate.”

That is so not what I was expecting to hear.

“Seriously? By plate, are you talking a plate of food or a gold plate found in a pharaoh’s tomb?”

He snorts. “Why are you asking?”

I guess I’ll be standing outside and hoping security doesn’t run me off.

“I was going to buy a plate, but never mind. I’ll figure out something else.”

“Hold up. I think I know someone else going,” he says, and I wait patiently as something rustles in the background, and muffled voices mask words I can’t understand.

“Hey, it’s Dale,” Dale Sterling says over the phone suddenly, confusing me. “You want to go to the charity ball this weekend?”

“I’m not letting anyone spend money on me to get in,” I quickly point out. I love their hearts, but I don’t take money from anyone.

“Well, you’d be doing me a favor actually,” he says, making me suspicious. “I bought two plates, but my date bailed at the last minute. You can come with me so that my mother doesn’t try to replace her with another girl she wants me to meet.”

“I’d be doing you a favor?” I ask skeptically.

“Yeah. Did you not hear that last part? My mother will literally shove another girl into my car and force me to take her. My ex is engaged again already, and my mom is determined that I’m going to be seen with a woman every chance given, as though somehow that makes it all better. I can’t make her understand I don’t care if Fiona is getting married, but she wants my ex to be jealous. I don’t get women.”

A small smile curves my lips. “Then you have a date for the night.”

“Thank you,” he says with genuine relief. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”

My eyes flick to the flyer. “It says it starts at seven.”

“Trust me. I’ll pick you up at eight.”

Frowning, I decide not to sound ungrateful. “Eight it is.”

Feeling a little better, I hang up, and another text from Ethan comes through. This time, it’s a picture of abs. Sexy, tight, firm abs. And I roll my eyes.

I need to go shopping for the event, so I’ll continue ignoring his damn texts. Maybe he’ll take the hint.