Unbreak My Heart (Rough Riders Legacy #1)(93)

Then I opened Snapchat. I clicked a shot of me holding the lowball glass of Crown over my head and pinged Lu.

She responded immediately with an image of her face pressed into a textbook.

My phone buzzed with a text message.

Lu: Wazzup?

Me: I might need hearing aids. Or a machete.

Lu: Why?

Me: R&B are playing a LOUD video game.

Lu: I wondered how you’d like that. You’re right. It is loud.

Me: Is that why you aren’t studying here?

Lu:

Me: You suck. I miss you

Lu: Miss you too.

Me: Why are you at the library?

Lu: In the BFF vault?

Me: Of course.

Lu: Needed break from Raj tonite.

Me: Why? The dick don’t fit anymore?

Lu: LOL. No! Just too much togetherness. He’s in my face all the freakin’ time or n my pants. I have school & a job.

Me: I hear ya. I’m feeling very stabby w/B

Lu: Why?

Me: He’s messy

Lu: How messy?

Me: Like an F5 tornado messy.

Lu: HAHAHAHAHA

Me: Not funny! Third nite I’ve come home to dishes in the sink, stuff from Sunday is still in the great room. His dirty clothes all over laundry room & bedroom. He even dumped out my hamper. As far as the kitchen…he cooked dinner. Yeah yeah yeah he’s trying. But then he left the f*cking mess for me to clean up. Took an HOUR. That ‘if you cook you don’t have to clean up’ rule doesn’t apply since I’ve cleaned up EVERY FUCKING TIME.

Lu: Ooh all caps = mad Sierra!

Me: Fuck yeah. Now loud video game and HE acted annoyed when I asked them to turn it down. Fuckface asswipe. I can still hear it.

Lu: Come to the library. It’s quiet here.

Me: Thanx. But I’ll drink my Crown and go to bed.

Lu: Wish I could sleep. Big tests tomorrow and Fri. Be a late one for me.

Me: Sorry, hon. Miss you

Lu: Let’s hang this weekend. Just us. No messy boys

Me: Deal. XOXOXO

I didn’t feel like texting anyone else. Or scrolling through social media. I didn’t even feel like popping in my earbuds to drown out the constant sounds of gunfire and explosions.

Maybe you just want to be mad.

No. I had legit complaints about the state of my house.

Then talk to him about it instead of stomping around griping about it under your breath.

That last helpful advice sounded like my dad’s wife Rielle. I adored that woman. Not just because she loved my dad like he needed after the shit-show he’d suffered through with my mom. Rielle taught me real life skills. She never treated me like her husband’s bratty kid—although I’d certainly acted the part a few times during the years I’d lived with them.

After downing the whiskey, I cut the lights and crawled between the sheets. I’d tuned out the game enough to drift off. Then I heard the sound of breaking glass and that shot me straight out of bed.

Shit. Was someone trying to get into the house?

I cracked open the door and listened. I heard that shattering glass sound again. It echoed from the great room.

Stupid video game.

I grabbed my favorite blanket and my cell phone. Boone could play his obnoxious video games at a million decibels. I’d just sleep on the patio.



“Sierra.”

The voice startled me out of a deep sleep.

“I’m picking you up. Hang on.”

I pushed his arms away. “Don’t.” I blinked and pulled the blanket around me. “Why’d you wake me up?”

Boone loomed over me. “Because I’m not letting you sleep in a f*cking lawn chair the rest of the night. Jesus. It’s bad enough that you’ve been out here this long.”

I yawned. “What time is it?”

“Three something. Raj and I lost track of time. I went to bed and you weren’t there. I searched the whole house and couldn’t find you.”

“Did you look under the gigantic pile of your dirty clothes in the laundry room?”

“What?”

“Never mind. I would’ve been fine out here. You should’ve let me sleep, since it took me so long to get to sleep.”

“Fuck that. I can tell you’re cold. Let’s go inside and warm you up.”

It wasn’t until we were in bed and he’d wrapped me in his warm body that I understood what he meant by warm you up. He’d drawn out his caresses and kept kissing my shoulder, each kiss a little closer to my neck.

“Let me make your body burn,” he rasped in my ear.

I pushed away from him. “Just because you’re wide awake at three a.m. doesn’t mean I wanna be your post-video-game booty call.”

He stiffened. “Booty call? What the hell?”

“Yes, booty call. Wanting sex when you’ve got nothing better to do. It’s bad enough I have to be up in four hours to go to work. You don’t get to use me—sex—as a sedative to help you sleep. Especially when you didn’t give a damn that your video game was loud enough to chase me out of the f*cking house.”

“Whoa. You’re pissed off about this.”

“I’m tired. I don’t want to talk. I don’t want to f*ck. I just want to sleep. So goodnight.” I rolled away from him to my side of the bed, giving him my back.