Play Fair (The Devil's Share Book 3)(14)

I made a move to stand and Jacks tightened his arms around me. “Number one, Smith would go outside and build a room onto this house for you before he’d sleep anywhere but next to your sister. And two? I’m kidding, your room is right next to mine; we share a bathroom. I let Landry pick which one she wanted and she picked the room with the en suite and the giant claw-foot tub.”

I nodded. “Smart kid.”

“I don’t want to give you up yet. Let’s Netflix and chill.”

I scoffed. “Jackson Cole. I know darn well what Netflix and chill is code for. What kind of girl do you think I am?”

He spoke with his lips against the top of my head. “The kind of girl who loves campy horror movies and jammy jams.”

“You, sir, are correct.”


Landry

This bed was really soft and really big. My bed at home was small, and my mattress had some sharp parts that I had to be careful to stay away from. The elephant Jacks gave me to sleep with, Ello, he was soft too. He smelled nice, he smelled a little like Jacks. Like cologne and the stuff he put in his hair to make it look dirty. I didn’t know why he put stuff in his hair to make it look that way. All he had to do was not wash it for a while and it would look like that for free.

I could hear him and Bryan talking across the hall. He’d left my door open and she had done the same with his. I knew they were both probably worried about me. Worried that I would be scared to sleep alone in this big bed, in this big house. But I wasn’t scared to be alone, I was used to that. It was scarier to be surrounded by loud people you didn’t know. It was nice here and I liked everyone so far. I needed to be careful not to like it too much though. My mom probably lied, and Jacks probably wasn’t my dad. And when he found out, I’m sure he’d make me leave. No one wanted to raise someone else’s kid. I’d heard more than one man tell that to my mom.

I wondered if that’s why she left me. Maybe she met a man and he wanted her but he didn’t want me. I tried really hard not to cause trouble and not to get in the way. But I always ended up making people mad. Or at least it seemed like they were mad, because they were never really very nice. Not like the people here. All of Jacks’s friends were super nice and they smiled a lot and laughed a lot. They were like happy TV people. And Jacks was right, Bryan was really pretty. I’d stared at my reflection in the huge mirror in the bathroom. My hair was dark like hers and my eyes were light like hers…maybe when I grew up I’d look even more like Bryan. If I looked like her, maybe I could have a friend like Jacks too.





Chapter Seven


Jacks


Having Bryan in my arms was nice. Like really, really nice. I knew that when she left, I’d miss her. I’d miss her every day she wasn’t lying next to me. She smelled like vanilla and sugar. It was okay to think your friends smelled good, right? I mean just because she was making my mouth water and I was already dreading the day she went home didn’t mean I was going to try to bang her. Or that I was falling for her. It had just been a few weeks since I’d gotten any. Just built-up lust is all it was. We were propped up against my headboard flipping through the movies on Netflix, trying to find something to watch. “How about Halloween?”

Bryan looked up from her phone. “Which version?”

“Rob Zombie.”

“Nope. Keep scrolling.” She looked back down and resumed her texting.

“Who could you possibly be texting? I’m right here. Don’t tell me you have other friends. I won’t allow it.” I was only halfway joking.

“Shep. He keeps texting and calling, wanting to know where I am.” She shut her phone off and tossed it on my nightstand. “Stage five clinger.”

I didn’t like Shep. Well, I didn’t like the idea of Shep. And I didn’t really think B was all that into him anyway. “The Grizzly Maze?” I pressed info and we both read through the description. It sounded ridiculous. Which meant Bryan would love it.

“Perfect.”

I nodded and hit select. “So what did you tell him?”

She shrugged. “That I came to Florida to visit my sister and some friends.”

“What did Dylan mean earlier? About your relationships never lasting?”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I thought those cartwheels didn’t matter?”

“They don’t, in regards to our friendship. But I’m curious.”

She sighed. “She’s right, my relationships never seem to last. I don’t really know what happens. It’s like everything is going great and then all of a sudden I get bored and have this urge to move on. I’ve never brought a guy home to meet my parents; I’ve never said I love you… It just never ends up going anywhere.”

“Does that bother you?” I didn’t mention that I’d never done those things either. That I never even made it to actual relationship status before sending a girl packing. Comparing her to me…just didn’t seem right.

“Honestly?”

“Always.”

“Not really.”

She snuggled into my side, the conversation obviously over, with her head on my chest and her leg thrown over mine. “By all means, B, make yourself comfortable.” Bryan reminded me of Lexi in that sense. Both girls loved to touch and hug, every person near them was a body pillow.