Distraction (5 page)

She
'
d tied her shirt in a knot under her boobs. The pattern and
colors coincided with the era, and the off-white shorts could front as boy-cut
corduroy panties. The platform gold high heels transformed her long legs into a
sexier, leaner version than they already were. But the blond afro wig really
topped it off.

"I admittedly look like a saint compared to you in that,"
I waved my hand toward her, "whatever assortment you have on. And by the
way, I
'
m not wearing this thing out."

I didn
'
t know if what I had on counted as an outfit, considering the
small amount of material. Either way, she'd lost her mind if she thought I
'
d wear this in
public.

"I knew you were going to say that." She opened her
door and grabbed another dress for me to try on, and I gratefully took it. As
soon as I closed the door to my dressing room, I peeled myself out of the
contraption I had on and slid into the new choice. The dress hung longer,
reaching mid-thigh, and the deep purple better suited my olive skin and
chestnut hair. The dress had a slight flare at the bottom, and the white
platform boots better complimented this dress anyway. I stepped out.

Alyssa smiled. "Groovy."

The sun had already set when we finally left the store. I
hoped Tristan wouldn
'
t have trouble finding our house. When Alyssa turned onto our
street, my eyes scanned the sidewalk. In front of our house sat a cherry red,
vintage Chevy Camaro z28.

"Hey. Tristan made it. Let
'
s get in before
the girls tear him apart." Alyssa rolled her eyes as she shifted her car
into park.

I told Tisha I had a friend staying with me and asked if she
would keep him company if he showed up before I got back. The second Tristan
'
s name came out,
she went all fan girl on me. Even jumped up and down. I reminded her about her boyfriend,
to which she said, "A girl can look without touching." Go figure. She
went on to say she couldn't believe I
'
d kept a secret like being friends
with Tristan Daniels from her this whole time. I laughed it off, being used to
the effect Tristan had over the female population. He was such a man-whore.

My heart thumped in my chest with each step I took to the
front door. I reached for the doorknob, sucked in a deep breath, turned the
knob, and walked in. As expected, two giggling girls surrounded Tristan in the
kitchen.

"Hey, stranger."

Tristan
'
s warm brown eyes met mine. His beaming superstar smile
created a rush of heat spreading across my cheeks. My stomach summersaulted,
and my lips spread wide across my face.

"Hey, Spud." As usual, he used the nickname I
acquired as a kid, knowing I hated it. Such a butthead.

Walking over, I landed a solid punch to his upper arm before
wrapping my arms around his waist. Tristan squeezed me and through his thin
fabric shirt, I could feel his taught stomach muscles pressing against me.
Damn. Holy shit, he smelled good. His skin had a rugged mountain fresh aroma
mixed with his rich, cool aftershave. With difficulty, I moved back.

He
'
d dressed in costume, which surprised me a bit. His collar
was wide, and the hunter green, short-sleeved shirt brought out the dark
chocolate specks in his light amber-brown eyes. The bell-bottoms did wonders
for his, well, I refused to go there. He didn
'
t protest to the
disco, but I didn
'
t think he
'
d dress up for the party.

"So, where
'
s Amazon?" On cue, Alyssa marched in. I winced knowing
she'd heard what he
'
d called her.

"Right here, Shrimp," she retorted, though her tone
remained playful. "We
'
ve gotta change, so stay put."

I smirked, in spite of the banter between the two of them.

"Okay, Elle, where have you kept this guy hidden for so
long?" Tisha supplied me with her quirky grin.

Tisha
'
s friend, Megan, sat beside him on a stool. Her attraction to
him, unmistakable. He
'
d always had the same affect on people.

"He goes to school at UT, so we don
'
t see each other
too often."

Tisha directed her attention back to Tristan and smiled.
"You are welcome to stay here anytime you want. Even if your girl here isn
'
t in town."

I laughed, and Alyssa sighed dramatically behind me.

"Make yourself at home and we
'
ll be out in a
bit," I said, then followed Alyssa to our room. I overheard Tisha asking
about the nicknames. I heard Tristan
'
s chuckle as I walked farther down
the hall. He wasn
'
t short, but after Alyssa
'
s supermodel
growth spurt in junior high, she solicitously aired the extra inches over him.

Ten minutes later, Tisha stuck her head in our room just as I
'
d finished slipping
my boots on. "Hey, gals. Megan and I are headed to the party." She
leaned closer into the room. "And just so you know, Ginger has her eyes
set on your man. Girl, you know how she is. I
'
d keep a close
eye on her."

"Thanks, but I think Tristan can handle himself."
Alyssa rolled her eyes in the mirror at my comment.

"Well, I guess we
'
ll see y
'
all there,"
Tisha said, and then left.

I didn
'
t usually wear makeup so I was ready in no time. I waited for
Alyssa to finish up, but knowing Tristan and Ginger were alone, I wanted to get
out there. "Hey, I
'
m gonna go talk with Tristan while you're finishing up in
here. Okay?"

"Whatever, I
'
ll be out in a minute." Alyssa
pressed her lips together while looking in the mirror.

I walked out of our room. My palms instantly became clammy
with sweat, and my breathing came out in quick pants. Before I turned the
corner, I stopped, taking a few deep, measured breaths to calm me down.

In the living room, I found Tristan sitting next to Ginger.
The sight caused my insides to tighten. Ginger was a mean, spiteful person, but
had the looks to back her up. She had a perfect cream complexion and long
auburn, curled locks that dangled around her shoulders. Admittedly, it fared
well with the skin-tight navy dress she chose. Her lips were glossed with a
hint of pink, but no signs of any other makeup showed. Tristan glanced over his
shoulder and smiled at my frozen state.

"Hey, Spud." I cringed again. "
Lookin
'
good. Is Amazon
almost finished?" He looked at his watch then back at me.

"She
'
s almost ready." I couldn't help the angry glare I aimed
at Ginger. "So, Ginger, are you waiting for Bret to pick you up or is it
Robbie now?" I couldn't deny myself the insult, because the way her body
leaned close to Tristan irritated the crap out of me.

With a wicked smile that would make the devil proud, she
said, "I asked Tristan if he wanted to couple with me since you and Alyssa
are going together. Besides, I wouldn
'
t want him to wander around getting
lost." She lifted her hand and eyed her manicured nails.

"We could only hope," Alyssa countered, coming up
from behind.

"Good to see you, too." Tristan winked, pushing
himself off the couch, and then walked to stand beside me.

"Okay you promised you
'
d be nice this
weekend. I haven
'
t seen you in forever, and I don
'
t want to play
referee between you two." I wrapped my arm around Tristan
'
s elbow.

"I can
'
t believe you
'
re friends with these two," Ginger said, jutting her
bottom lip out in a flirty pout.

"Amazon is a package deal when it comes to Elle, and
Elle is the closest thing to a sister I
'
ve got. I consider them more like
family."

To the unknowing such as Ginger, you
'
d think his tone
sounded playful, but I could hear the warning undertone behind his words.
However, I also couldn't help notice he classified me as a sister, and worse
yet, so did Ginger. Not something you wanted to hear from the guy you
'
re in love with.

"Aw, you got all mushy on me, Shrimp. This little
reunion is great and all, but we have a disco to get to. So if you don
'
t mind?"
Alyssa clicked her heels over the door and walked out.

Chapter
3

Tristan

The vision I'd had of Elle the other night dulled in
comparison to the way she looked tonight. The bottom of her dress raised just
enough, exposing the natural tanned skin of her thighs, and the hypnotizing
swing of her hips when she walked in front of me made it difficult not to
stare. I knew if I didn
'
t get a handle on my thoughts, I
'
d end up taking
a cold shower by the end of the night.

"Do you want to ride with me?" I turned to the
redhead. She had a tall, slender, hot body, and I got the distinct impression
she knew as much. She offered to share her oversized bed tonight so I wouldn
'
t have to sleep
on the couch. I never liked girls who were easy, and she had easy written all
over her pretty little face. She also mentioned her dad's credentials–a big
shot plastic surgeon–like I gave a damn.

"Tristan, you can ride with Ginger if you want,"
Elle said, shrugging her delicate shoulders, indifferently.

"
You sure?
" Elle waved off my question and slid into the car with
Alyssa.

"I guess it
'
s settled then." The redhead smiled. I hesitated until
Alyssa backed out of the driveway.

I had to fold myself into the small sports car; no doubt her
dad had bought it for her. "So, how do you know Elle?" I didn
'
t appreciate the
sneer accompanying her fake smile.

"
Elle and I'
ve known each other since we were kids."

"So, she
'
s more like a little sister to you?" She batted her
eyelashes, and then focused on the road again.

"
Listen, I don'
t know what game you
'
re playing, and I don
'
t give a
shit.
"
I reveled in the shocked expression messing up her pretty face. "Elle is
important to me, so lay off." I could tell she wasn
'
t used to being
shot down–most girls like her weren't.

"
You mind?
" I ignored her huff when I changed the radio station. I
rested my head against the seat cushion and closed my eyes to clear my head.

My steel hard plan to keep Elle at a distance didn't seem to
be working out as I'd planned, especially after seeing her in the too damned
short, sexy purple dress. I needed a fucking strong drink in order to get
through the night.

Without warning, the car came to a screeching halt. My head
bounced hard against the leather headrest.

"
Oops,
" the bitch said. I moved in, close enough to smell the
over-priced vanilla perfume she doused herself in. Her lips parted with
anticipation.

"Not everyone can handle a stick." Her eyes widened
and I backed away. Yep, way too easy. I opened the door and didn
'
t bother to hide
my laugh. Elle and Alyssa waited by the door. I walked over as soon as I got
out.

"About time," Elle said. I smiled and she arched
her brows in return.

"After you," I said, following close behind. When
we walked in, I sent a silent prayer that I wouldn
'
t have to watch
Elle meet up with some dickhead tonight.

Elle

The frat house was in full swing, and everyone dressed in
true sixties form. Music pulsed against the wood floors, and a rotating silver
disco ball replaced the usual light fixture in the main room.

Alyssa quickly mingled her way into the crowd, smiling and
laughing while I stayed back. I wanted to spend as much time with Tristan as I
could.