The Peer and the Puppet (When Rivals Play, #1) (94)
“I have to be honest,” Tyra spoke hesitantly. “I don’t know what to say.”
“You really don’t know?” I gaped. “I was kind of hoping you could tell me what to do.”
Tyra blinked, and I groaned as I banged my head against the headboard.
“I do know I feel less awkward calling you my best friend now that I know more about you than your name. You’re a vault, Four Archer.”
I stopped banging my head and kept my gaze firmly cast on the bedspread as I let the guilt wash over me. There was still so much I hadn’t told Tyra.
“I wonder what he’s looking for,” she mused. Just then, Tyra’s phone chimed, saving me from answering, and when she checked the message, a smile appeared. I was sure her cheeks would have been red if not for her rich mocha skin.
“Vaughn wishing you sweet dreams?”
“Nope. He sent me a pic of his one-eyed monster.”
I was tempted to lean over and confirm that she was joking, but I didn’t want to risk it.
There was another chime and then, “Now he’s wishing me sweet dreams.”
“Is he staying over, too?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised.” She suddenly looked excited and nervous at once. “I think he knows I’m ready. It’s like he sensed it and has been on edge ever since.” Her gaze turned pleading. “You’ve got to help me figure out how to seduce him.”
“Why do you need to seduce him?”
“Because I’d like to tell him I want him without making a fool of myself!”
“As long as he wants you, that can’t happen, and he’s made it more than clear that he does.”
She pouted. “I know all of that, but it can’t hurt to be sexy, right?”
I sighed and thought about throwing in the towel when an idea popped into my head that had me jumping up from the bed. “I saw something in Jamie’s room when I was stealing his iPod that might help us.”
“Us?”
Shit. Well, the cat was pretty much out of the bag, so I shrugged. “I may be curious, too.”
I made for Jamie’s room with Tyra on my heels. Once inside, I headed for his secret stash while Tyra looked around. We kept the lights off so we wouldn’t alert Jamie if they returned in the next few minutes.
“I didn’t expect Jamie to be so cultural.”
“Yeah, he’s really embraced his heritage.”
“Is that Nicki Minaj?”
I caught Tyra eyeing the poster of the mega rap star crouched with her legs spread, wearing only a sports bra, thong, and sneakers.
“Yup.”
I sifted through the stack of DVDs while she checked out Jamie’s wall of guitars.
“I didn’t know Jamie played.”
“I don’t know if he does or if he’s just a collector.”
“You’ve never heard him play?”
“No. Honestly, I don’t know much about him.”
“I suppose he’s too busy pushing everyone’s buttons to talk about himself.”
“And whenever I ask, he changes the subject or says something rude or perverted.”
“Can you blame him?” Tyra questioned dryly. “The last girl he confided in was probably Barbette Montgomery, and we all know how that turned out.”
Clutching a stack of discs, I rushed over and felt her forehead. “Did I just hear you defending Jameson Buchanan? I bet Satan is making figure eights right about now because hell has frozen over. I thought you couldn’t stand him.”
“I don’t hate him. I want to muzzle him. He’s good people as long as Barbie isn’t in the room, on his mind, or the topic of conversation .”
I nodded my agreement. One could always tell when Barbie was in Jamie’s head because that was when he was his most insufferable. Unfortunately for everyone, it was most of the time. I finally located the DVD suspiciously without a label and held it up triumphantly. “Got it!”
She frowned at the white disc. “What is it?”
“You’ll see.” I slid the DVD inside the console and grabbed the remote before plopping down on Jamie’s bed and patting the seat next to me. “Make yourself comfortable.”
“Any reason we can’t watch whatever this is in your room?”
“No TV, remember?”
She was still standing, shifting from one foot to the other. “Well, what if they come back?”
“They probably went to a party or something.” My stomach turned whenever I thought of Ever doing something Exiled related, so I chose to lie to myself.
“You don’t seem convinced. You look like you’re about to hurl your dinner.” She finally sat and placed her hand on my back. “Is this about Ever being Exiled?”
“I don’t like what knowing I could lose him does to me.” It was a foreign and unwelcome feeling. Cherry was home, but even there, I didn’t have friends who evoked such emotion. Mickey had been a business associate who needed me more than I needed him, and without my set of skills, he’d have never looked my way. Rosalyn was the weight I carried on my shoulders. She needed pills just to endure me, so whenever I thought about letting her go, the only relief I felt was for her sake. Gruff had many roles in my life: father, boss, mentor, and friend, but not even he had rallied this kind of feeling. What I felt for Ever was raw and intrinsic and…addictive.