Every Which Way (Sloan Brothers) (17 page)

Chris held his hands in the air. “Hey. Don’t give me that shit. I didn’t slam the door like a maniac!”

Things slammed around in the kitchen. Severine cringed over the action. She knew what was in store next: Thayer being pissed off at everyone, glaring in Severine’s direction and avoiding any room that had her in it. All she wanted to do was leave. Thayer braced his arms on the kitchen island and practically snarled at Severine. “Don’t you have a fucking home?”

Severine wanted to choke him. “No, Daddy Warbucks, I don’t. Are you offering? Do you guys want a fourth roommate?”

Macsen laughed next to her and grabbed her around the waist. “God, I’d love that. You could be my roommate. I’d have no problem sharing my bed with you.”

Thayer slammed his mouth shut. For a minute, it look liked he was going to say something else. Nothing came out of his mouth. The muscles corded up his arm clenched tightly, and he pulled away from the counter, disappearing toward the refrigerator.

Severine grabbed Macsen’s hand and squeezed. “I should go.”

He shook his head no, and Chris laughed and dropped himself into the lazy boy. “Are you sure? Your make-out session was so hot.”

Severine gave him a dull stare. Chris only laughed harder.

Macsen cringed and nodded his head. “Yeah. You should go.”

“Aww. You’re leaving so soon?” Thayer crooned from the kitchen entrance. He stood with his arms crossed. Sweat dampened his shirt around the collar and sides. Severine looked away quickly and mumbled a quick good-bye to Chris. There was no point in saying anything to Thayer. Every day things became more and more tense between them. One of them was going to snap soon, and it’d be an ugly battle of wills.

“I’ll see ya later.” Macsen said as he hugged Severine tightly and kissed the top of her head.

“Yep.” She wanted to ask him, hell, plead with him to come with her tonight. She kept her lips pressed together and quickly whispered in his ear, “I’ll stop by later, okay?”

Macsen nodded his head but looked confused.

Severine waited until she was halfway to her car to take a deep breath. How long could the tension keep going before it became impossible to take?

Chapter Sixteen

“Slow it down! It’s cutting off my circulation,” Severine choked out.

Lily smacked her hard on the butt. “This is what you get for wanting to be all smexy. Spanx are a bitch, but trust me, you’ll be thanking me later. You don’t want your cooch hanging out for all the world to see.”

Severine shifted in the mirror and took in her figure as Lily helped her with the sleeves of her dress. It clung to her body and stopped mid-thigh. Around her waist, the material was ruched, making her hips and waist look even tinier.

The color choice tonight: a dark red. Pretty much Severine’s entire wardrobe consisted of dark colors. It just wasn’t her to flounce around in bright pinks and oranges. The selections she chose were a reflection of her—daring and edgy.

A few rollers were still scattered in her hair. Severine plucked them out and dropped them onto the floor. With some hairspray—and a few spritzes of perfume, Severine was done.

Lily made a cat call. “Lookin’ good, babay!”

“At what point does breathing become easier?” Severine questioned as she searched for a pair of heels. Bending was impossible. Instead, she sprawled down stomach first to search around in her closet.

“By the time we get to the club, you’ll be used to the discomfort,” Lily stated confidently. “But I must say, you look killer in that dress.”

“I hope the ER doctor says that as he cuts me out of it, trying to save me as I slowly suffocate.” Severine found the shoes she wanted and held her hands out. “Help me.”

Lily rolled her eyes and hefted her up. “You’ll be thanking me later.”

Severine chose not to answer her. With both heels on, Severine checked out Lily.

“Too much?” Lily asked nervously.

“Nah.” Severine grinned. “I like it! Printed dress with a skinny belt...completely you,” Severine stated.

“I know!” Lily squealed out happily. If her parents saw her, they’d probably shit a brick and kidnap her from ever seeing the light of day again.

In a passing glance, anyone on the outside would judge Lily’s incredibly strict family life. With parents that believed women needed to be covered, and males took care of everything, Severine had been around them to know that those things aside, they loved all four of their kids so much—almost to a suffocating point. They’d never see it, but Lily had more light in her eyes away from them.

Severine gathered her hair to one side and slipped her arms into her black, ruffled coat. The way it flared out at the ends made it the perfect coat for tonight. “I can’t believe I’m actually ready before you!” Severine called out. “I think we’re trading places.”

“Noo...” Lily drew out. “I would’ve been ready before you. I had to help you mold your body into your dress!” Severine threw a coat, and Lily snatched it mid-air. “See, I’m ready now.”

“Then let’s go!”

“My, you’re in a rush,” Lily stated calmly.

“I need this night. This week has been rough.”

Lily gave her a side-glance and nodded her head. “So is Macsen coming?”

“No. It’s not his thing.”

They made it to the car, and Lily stopped at the driver’s seat. “And you’re going without him?”

Severine settled her arms on the car roof. “I’m still my own person, Lily.” Doubt still etched her friend’s face. “I’m not going to change myself for him.”

“Sure. I understand.” There was so much more to her words. Lily was agreeing to agree, just to make Severine calm.

Severine gritted her teeth together and slid into the passenger seat. “I wanna stop by and say hey to him.”

Lily snorted. “He’s going to crap himself when he sees you.”

“That’s the reaction I was aiming for—to see my boyfriend poop his briefs.”

“He wears briefs?” Lily gave her a funny look and turned back to the road.

The harmony between them was back. It caused a smile to spread across Severine’s face. “I don’t know! I was just using that as an example.”

“I bet he does. He seems like a brief dude.”

“Well, when we go in there you should ask, since it’s clearly important.”

“Wait...shouldn’t you know that? You’re the one dating him.”

Severine adjusted the sleeves of her jacket. She knew what Thayer wore. A flash of the night on his bed came into her mind. She slammed her eyes shut before looking up at Lily. “We haven’t gotten to that point.”

“Oh, stop.” Lily put her hand up. “That sounds so middle school.”

“That I haven’t slept with him?”

“Uhh...hell yeah!”

“My bad. I’ll change that tonight. Just to make you happy.”

“You don’t get it,” Lily groaned dramatically.

“No, I really don’t.”

“When I just asked you if you had done anything with him, you shrugged your shoulders, and acted like I told you I was getting a bone marrow transplant.”

Please stop talking about this
. “It’s been a rough week. Okay?”

“I’m just saying that passion needs to be there,” Lily stated firmly.

“I know that.” Severine didn’t need to be told. Their moments together should ignite the room. But they weren’t there. Macsen and Severine were so close to reaching that high. “It’s kinda nice not doing anything yet.”

“You are shitting me!” Lily sputtered out. She pressed her foot against the brake. Severine was close to making best friends with the dashboard.

“Chill out about it. It’s not a big deal.”

Lily grinned sheepishly. “Sorry. I just can’t believe it.”

They were coming up to Macsen’s apartment. Severine was starting to feel antsy. It showed in the way she tapped her foot repeatedly. Her conversation with Lily made her want to reaffirm her relationship. Severine wanted to see him to know she was making all the right choices. Was there an empty space between them?

Lily parked, and the two of them practically ran to the door. Severine didn’t bother at knocking. Her presence was a common thing around here. The heat blasted Severine as she entered the door.

Chris peeked his head around the kitchen island. He took in Lily and Severine’s appearance and whistled loudly. “Mac! Hey! Some girl who’s out of your league is here for you!”

With a sub in hand, he walked out of the kitchen and winked at the two of them before walking down the hall.

M
acsen was walking down the hall before Severine could settle into a stool. She stepped forward and took in his blue jeans and gray hoodie; some t-shirt of a band she didn’t know showed underneath.

Slowly, Severine turned and let Macsen inspect her.

“You look hot,” Macsen said thoughtfully. His hand wrapped around her waist as he pulled her close to whisper in her ear. “Why can’t you wear that to class?”

What do you feel with him?
Her conscience prickled.

Severine laughed and quickly kissed the corner of his lips. When she looked at Lily, she saw her friend staring at Macsen ruthlessly. No words were coming out of her mouth, but as she tapped her heel against her bar stool, Severine knew she was taking stock.

Macsen let her go and walked toward the kitchen. “Hey, Lily.”

“Mac,” Lily said with a nod.

Severine kicked the chair Lily sat on. When she got her attention, Severine mouthed, “What the hell?”

Lily played dumb and turned away. “So Mac, you still have time to get ready if you wanna go.” Her offer was sweet, but it was all a test.

He was completely unaware and leaned on the cluttered kitchen island. The cap of his Gatorade was in his fingers. He spun it repeatedly. “Nah. I’m good staying here.”

“I gotta pee,” Severine announced awkwardly.

Lily raised her head. “Cool.”

She had to get out of there.

The bathroom door was shut. Severine knocked and tried to open the door.

“Uh, someone’s in here,” Thayer shouted out gruffly. It broke through the door and reached her ears and blasted her heart enough to make it stagger with uneven beats.

“I have to go pee, Thayer!” Severine called out.

An awkward pause passed between them. “Tough! They have bathrooms at the dorms, right?”

“Thayer! I’ll release my fluids right here.”

“That’s fucking nasty, Blake,” Thayer shot back.

Chris popped his door open and peeked out, shirtless. “Please don’t! It’s my turn to vacuum this shit hole.”

“Chris, I would never do that to you. I’ll just go into Thayer’s room.” Chris laughed and shut his door, just as Thayer ripped open the door.

His eyes moved over her, up and down. It completely overpowered her. “The bathroom awaits you.”

Severine nodded but didn’t move. He was dressed to go somewhere. Pieces of his hair were styled to give the appearance of bed head. It was the kind of hair that a girl would yank during sex. Severine wanted to reach up and tug him close to her.

Severine was reminded why the two of them in close proximity was always an epic fail. She felt about as thick as tissue paper. All Thayer had to do was tap her on the shoulder, and she’d cave into him. Behind her, she leaned a hand against the wall. “You took forever.”

“Yeah, well it’s my fucking home. Maybe Macsen needs to buy you a bag of Depends.”

“Oh!” Severine crooned. “Straight to the heart!” Her body was solid again. Leave it to a good bout of sarcasm to toughen her skin. Severine stepped forward and motioned for Thayer to scoot. “You wanna move out of the way?”

“You wanna ask nicely?”

His cologne wafted toward her. Severine inhaled greedily.

Her soul was tar black. She was going to hell for enjoying being near him. It was hard to care how tarnished her thoughts were. Thayer brought a dangerous stream of urgency through her body. She was back on that rollercoaster ride. There was no way she wanted to be absent from what she was feeling.

Her arms were laced behind her back, firmly kept to herself. At times, hands-off was more threatening than a simple touch. That time was now.

Severine clenched her hands tightly together. “Thayer, let’s be honest, do either one of us know what the word
nice
means?”

The conflicted male from weeks before was gone. Thayer used his height and stepped closer to tower over her. Severine inched her shoulders back, her posture straighter than ever. “You want me to sing hymns in your honor?” Severine couldn’t tell if he was serious. That’s how solid his poker face was. His fingers reached to her shoulders and lifted a lock of her hair away from her neck, to join the rest of the strands hanging down her back.

Macsen’s touch was merciful. Every move was thoughtful. Thayer’s vitality was barely contained. Severine glanced back up at his sharp features. She saw the truth. He wanted to do so much more.

“Wouldn’t that signify that you know me?” Thayer asked as he took one step closer. “How much of me do you know, Severine?”