Maybe This Time (Maybe #1)(19)

He makes me stupid.

He makes me forget myself.

He makes me want him more than my own sanity.

“Where were you last night?” I ask, enunciating each word. He rubs his face, not even wincing when he touches his injuries.

When he doesn’t reply, I walk out of the room and head for a shower. When I return to the room thirty minutes later, Reid isn’t there.





Chapter Seven


“Dinner’s ready!” I call out to the guys, who are playing video games and drinking beer.

“Smells good, sis,” Xander says as he walks up, kissing me on the top of my head.

“Of course it does,” I brag, placing all the plates on the dining table. Dash and Ryan walk over, taking a seat, serving their plates and digging in. I look at the spare seat that would be occupied by Reid if he was here. It had been two days since I saw him last.

“Seriously, this is the best steak I've ever had,” Ryan says as he takes a huge bite. I take a bite of mashed potatoes and wonder where the hell Reid is.

“I’m moving in,” Dash says, his mouth full.

“Where's Reid?” I blurt out, not being able to hold it in any longer.

The table goes silent.

Ryan keeps his gaze trained on his food when he says, “He’s at home.”

“Why didn’t he come over for dinner?” I ask, noticing Xander frowning from the corner of my eye.

“He has company,” Ryan says reluctantly, finally lifting his head to look at me.

“I see,” I mumble, now looking down at my own plate. That’s Ryan’s nice way of saying Reid is at home, screwing another woman.

Fuck. This.

Xander gets up and heads into the kitchen, walking back and putting a drink on the table next to my plate.

“Thanks,” I tell him as I open the cap and skull it. It’s one of those girly vodka mixed drinks that Ryan bought for me since he knows I don’t care much for beer.

“Dad says he wants you to go over to his house tomorrow for dinner,” Xander announces to the table.

“Why didn’t he tell me himself?” I ask.

“He said you wouldn’t answer your phone,” he says, eyeing me knowingly.

Oh yeah.

“I’m not sitting there with him and that bitch,” I say bitterly, finishing my last bite.

“What?” my brother asks, sitting up straight in his chair.

“She came up to me and said some shit. I can’t stand her, and frankly I’m not too fond of Jack either,” I say, looking down.

“Summer…”

“Can we go out?” I ask, standing up and clearing mine and Ryan’s plates. I don’t wait for an answer because I’m going out with or without them. I walk into my room, closing the door behind me with a push of my foot. Knowing exactly what I'm going to wear, I strip off my top and unbutton my jeans. I’m about to push the jeans off when Ryan walks in without knocking. I squeal a little, covering my bra clad breasts with my hands. Instead of being embarrassed, Ryan grins and closes the door behind him.

“You have a smoking body, Summer,” he says, approval dripping from his tone.

“I’m glad you approve,” I say dryly, opening my wardrobe and pulling out my little black dress. Or should I say the little black dress.

There is little this dress can’t do.

“Are you alright?” he asks, taking a seat on my bed.

“Are you just gonna sit there and watch me undress?” I ask as I let my hands drop from my breasts so he has a plain view of my bra.

“Hold on a sec,” he says as he lifts his phone to his ear. “Hey, bro.”

My heart stops beating.

“Just wanted to see where you are tonight cos I’m taking Sum out and I don’t want her to run into you,” he says into the phone, smirking at whatever Reid replies . Ryan stares up at me, a mischievous look taking over his face.

“You can take the bra off, too, Summer, nothing I haven’t seen before, trust me,” he says, I’m sure so that Reid can hear. I roll my eyes at his antics and take my dress into the bathroom so I can undress in peace.

I exit the bathroom twenty minutes later, dolled up and ready to party. With my black dress, I’m wearing my strappy platform heels that make my legs look longer than they really are. My brown hair is down and ironed dead straight, and my makeup consists of a brown smokey eye and a nude lip.

“Someone’s dressed to kill,” Ryan says as I walk back into my room, doing a little turn to show him the back of my dress, or lack thereof. He stands up and walks over to me.

“You look beautiful. My brother’s a dumbass,” he says, checking me out again.

“Thank you,” I tell him, meaning it. That was the perfect thing to say. I walk out, frowning when I see Xander and Dash missing in action.

“They had to go somewhere, they'll meet us out. Come on,” he says, heading to the front door. I lock up the house and slide into his car, wrinkling my nose.

“This car smells like… sex,” I say, looking at Ryan’s profile. Ryan laughs but doesn’t explain. Knowing him, he probably got some action before he came for dinner.

“How come I’ve never seen Dash hook up?” I ask, suddenly curious.

Ryan shrugs, keeping his eyes on the road. “That’s Dash’s story.”