Pain shoots down my neck, the hard pillow below me doing little to soothe it. Groaning, I whack the pillow, hoping to fluff it up a little. ‘Ouch,’ My eyes bug open in shock as my pillow moans in agony. ‘Good morning to you too darlin’,’ Devin husks out, rubbing his eyes. I immediately jump up, looking down at the black silky sheets that are definitely not mine. Devin’s casually lying next to me as this is no big deal. Looking over to him, I fully expect him to explain why I’m here, but he’s too busy rubbing his chest. The rock hard, warm chest that I was just sleeping on. Damn, even groggy, he’s the sexiest thing I’ve ever laid eyes on.
‘I’m sorry D, I didn’t realize you were under me,’ I say, my eyes watching his shirt the entire time as it gently rides up showing the light dusting of hair close to his navel. My fingers tingle, wanting to skate them across that sliver of skin. ‘Or that I stayed the night.’ As I drag my eyes up to his face, I stop at the little wet patch where my mouth was on his shirt and feel my cheeks heat. Thankfully, he’s too busy waking up to notice the drool patch I left behind.
Finally, his eyes squint open as he looks at me with that gorgeous lopsided smile of his and that’s when my heart skips a little. ‘You fell asleep during the movie. You looked so peaceful; I didn’t have the heart to wake you.’ He shrugged while scratching the back of his neck. He’s right. Apart from the crick in my neck, it was a fantastic sleep; one I didn’t think I’d have if I hadn’t opened up to and told him everything. It’s the first time I’ve told anyone since Clay and I honestly thought it would be more monumental than it feels. It just felt normal though, as though it’s something Devin was always supposed to know.
‘Thanks for letting me share your bed.’ And my secrets. I mumble, trying to keep my eyes off the gorgeous man lying next to me. The sheets ride low on his hips, framing that perfect V, leading down to his… Stop. I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this. We’re friends. That’s all. If there was something more going on between us, he would have told me what was bothering him. But he didn’t.
‘I should probably go.’ I lie because I need to leave for my own sanity. Being around him is making me itchy. Itchy to fling those sheets off and see what’s going on under them. ‘I’ve got class soon.’
He looks at me skeptically and that’s when I realize it’s Saturday morning. He doesn’t call me out on it though. ‘No problem, I’ve got practice in 30 minutes anyway.’ He smirks, throwing the sheets off his bed and revealing those wide thighs being tightly held by his boxers. Memories of the first night we slept together come crashing back and it takes all my self-control not to straddle Devin and kiss the crap out of him. I can’t do it and it’s my own fault. I’m the one who friend zoned him.
My center tingles at the mere thought of him between my thighs and I bite my bottom lip hard, hoping the pain will refocus my attention. ‘Are you okay?’ He asks, leaning closer to me, his musky manly smell invading my senses and making my brain go crazy.
‘I’m fine.’ I whimper. ‘I, uh, just need help getting over the railings,’ I say.
I let out a squeak when he unexpectedly scooped me into his arms, carrying me over to the window as though I weigh nothing. My stomach turns. In a good way. Not like I’m about to vomit on the guy or anything, but the feel of his hands just skating across my bare skin is making my body throb for him. I’m so glad I’ll be in my room and away from him soon. I need to refocus.
He gently places my butt on my railing, letting me slide across and land safely on the other side. With the two windows between us, I feel my sanity flowing back into my brain. ‘Thanks for last night. I had a great time.’ He says, his hand lingering on my arm.
Following his touch, I notice he’s fingering the sweatshirt. His Sweatshirt. The one I’m still wearing and slept in. He probably wants it back and I’m going to have a hard time giving it to him. ‘Do you want your sweatshirt back?’ I ask reluctantly as I play with the bottom of it. His eyes immediately drop to my thighs where the sweatshirt ends and focuses on my hands, as though he’s waiting for me to take it off and reveal what’s underneath. That, or I’m hopeful that he feels the same kind of lust that I do.
‘No darlin’, I told you to keep it for now.’ He smiled as his hazel eyes flicked back up, melting my chocolate ones. The shiver it causes to run down my spine is undeniable. ‘Thanks for taking my mind off my problems a little while.’ He sighs, making my heart ache. I wish he would talk to me. I wish he would let me in and let me know what’s going on. I want to help him. To make him feel better. It’s a privilege I don’t have though. Because he’s not my boyfriend. He’s not my anything. And that’s why I need to maintain a healthy distance.
‘Anytime. If you ever want to talk, you know I’m here.’ I offered.
His lips curved slightly, still looking sadder than usual. ‘Sure. See you later darlin,’ He winked and just like that, he disappears into his bathroom, leaving me there thinking about his naked wet body. Urgh. I need to get out of this little microcosm of a world we’ve built between our two bedrooms and see sense.
Shoving a pair of jeans on, I grab my phone and earbuds, fully planning on going for a long sobering walk. Only, I’m stopped in my tracks. ‘Reign!’ Lyss coos as she hears my steps down the stairs.
I grunt out a response, hoping she’ll take the hint that I’m in no mood to talk, I just want to get out of this house and not think about Devin for a few hours. She doesn’t though. Wrapping her arm around my shoulders, she walks me towards the kitchen. Laura is sitting on the island looking at me apologetically and I’m shocked to see it’s covered in bags and bags of glitter. All different colors and sizes. ‘The guys are leaving in five minutes for practice which means they should be out for a couple of hours. That gives us plenty of time to fill their house with glitter.’ She explains with a somewhat crazy glint in her eyes.
My forehead creases. I remember talking about this yesterday, but I didn’t think she’d be ready with supplies. ‘You weren’t joking? We’re actually going through with this?’ I ask them both, particularly looking at Laura. I thought she would have talked some sense into Lyss while I was gone.
‘Why wouldn’t we be?’ Lyss states matter-of-factly. She looks down at her watch and then shoves a giant bag of gold glitter in my hand. ‘Come on, we don’t have much time if we want to thoroughly ruin their sex lives.’ She says, grabbing her own bag and motioning her head for us to join her.
Laura and I diligently follow her to my room, where she proceeds to put my desk chair next to the railing, making it easier to jump over. ‘Hurry.’ She whispers shouts as she easily jumps over the edge. My heart pounds, I didn’t leave Devin that long ago and there’s a potential chance he’s still in that bathroom. Lyss lands with a thud and I close my eyes, waiting for her to get busted. Only, she doesn’t. She’s still just standing there, waiting for us.
Laura is next to jump over and I follow. Standing in Devin’s room, I look around making sure there’s no evidence that I slept here last night. Even if there was anything, the girls don’t notice because they’re too busy shoving pink glitter in his pants, his drawers, and his sink. Poor guy. ‘Reign!’ Lyss shrieked. ‘What are you waiting for? Come on! We need to split up to hit all of the rooms in time.’ She scurries out, Laura rolling her eyes in toe.
Walking down the hall, I pick the room next to Devin’s and push open the door. This place is neat freak central. The idea of getting glitter all over his perfectly pressed sheets has my eye twitching. He doesn’t deserve this kind of torture. Unless it’s Aiden. Then he does. I look around the room, searching for the owner, and smile when I see a photo frame on the desk.
It’s Adam in his graduation gown with a guy and a girl on either side smiling. He’s never mentioned siblings before and the way the girl looks at him looks anything but familial. I wonder who these two are to him? ‘Reign!’ Lyss yells, making me jump. ‘Hurry up.’ I gently put the picture down and scurry to his drawers. Guilt seeps through me as I stick glitter in his jeans pockets.
‘Crap!’ I accidently dropped the bag, leaving a giant pile of gold glitter on his perfectly gray carpet. I don’t have time to fix it, Lyss is fretting outside, muttering to herself and waiting for me.
Padding out of Adam’s room, I walk further down the hall. My hand is on the knob of the next room, when Laura yells, ‘Umm guys,’ She runs out of the front room and Lyss does the same on the opposite side. ‘Adam’s car has just pulled up.’ She says, pointing her thumb to the window.
‘WHAT?!’ Lyss screeches so loudly that I’m sure they could hear her outside. She runs next to Laura to look out the window, confirming what Laura said. ‘Reign, go downstairs and create a distraction. Now!’ My feet are already treading down the stairs. ‘We’ll finish with the glitter up here. Just keep them distracted for at least twenty minutes.’ I can only hear her feet shuffling at this point. ‘Go! Go! Go!’
As I get to the front door, I see two shadowy figures walking to the door and my heart is beating faster. How the hell am I going to explain why I’m here? The door opens before I can hide or think of an excuse. Right there, in my face is Aiden. Staring down at me. Confused and angry. ‘Reign?’
‘Uh, hi.’ I fumble, shifting from side to side on my feet.
‘What are you doing here?’ Adam asks with a smile coming up from behind Aiden. I immediately feel bad. If only he knew what I did to his most sacred pocket.
I do the only thing I can think of, I throw my arms around Adam, forcing him to hug me. ‘I’ve been looking for you obviously,’ I say, watching Aiden stalk further into the room, looking around sheepishly.
‘How did you get in?’ He asks with a hint of annoyance.
‘Uh, Jackson let me in before he left,’ I say, arms still around Adam who’s now let his hands fall to my hips.
His mouth moves to my ear and he breathes out, ‘So, you’ve been waiting for me for over an hour?’ He teased, as his finger pressed into my side.
‘Yeah…’ I trail, trying to think fast. Aiden’s still looking around, more suspicious than before. I need to keep him down here as long as possible. As I step back, I notice There are some steps behind me and finally, an idea comes to mine. Keeping my eyes focused on Adam, I slowly step back, away from him. ‘I just wanted to talk to you about that date you mentioned?’ Smiling, I keep walking backward, knowing the steps are coming soon.
Adam follows me, his smile widening. ‘Oh yeah?’
‘Yeah,’ My heel is on the edge of the step. It’s now or never. Forcing myself down, I pretend to fall to the floor, screaming the entire way down dramatically. Even if they think I’m faking it, this should give Lyss and Laura more than enough time to get out.
‘Reign!’ Adam’s kneeling by my side in a minute, brushing the hair away from my face. ‘Are you okay?’
Nodding, ‘Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just a clutz.’ I wonder how long it’s been. Five, seven minutes? I need to keep them down here for longer. ‘Ouch!’ I squeal, moving my foot. ‘It hurts so much.’ I whined.
‘Jesus! You can’t sue me. You were in this house without my permission.’ Aiden held his hands up, watching Adam tend to my foot.
Adam scoffs at his friends, he’s been manipulating my foot for a few minutes. ‘Shut up, Dude. We need to help her. Get some ice.’ He draped my arm over his shoulder and then lifted me up in a bridal carry. He dropped me off on the kitchen counter. Without warning, he takes my shoes off, inspecting my foot and I wince. What if he faints from the smell of my socks?
Aiden throws him a dishtowel filled with ice and he applies it to my fake injury. ‘It looks like you’ve rolled your ankle.’ He says and, in that moment, I realize I must have naturally fat ankles if he thinks it looks swollen. I add a pained whimper for effect when he presses the ice down.
‘I don’t think I’ll be able to walk to my house, will you both be able to carry me?’ I’ve never been the type to act like a damsel in distress and giving them puppy dog eyes is forced but it seems to be working.
Aiden groaned. ‘Adam can do it himself.’
‘It will be quicker if we do it together,’ Adam answers for me. I keep pouting at Aiden, wondering if I can melt that icy cold heart of his. Grumbling, Aiden doesn’t say anything else, just ambles over to me and lifts me up easily. I thought Devin was tall, but Aiden is ginormous. He’s not bulky like Devin, but lean and muscular, like a championship racehorse. ‘Or you can do it yourself.’ Adam chuckles following behind us.
When we get to my house, Aiden kicks the door open. Lyss and Laura are both sitting in the living room watching TV and acting like nothing happened at all. Mock shock crosses both of their faces. ‘Reign. Are you okay?’ Laura asks, running up and inspecting me.
‘What did you do?!’ Lyss as usual accuses Aiden, using her index finger to push his shoulder.
He grumbled, walking past her. ‘I did nothing. She did this all by herself.’ He plops me down on the sofa and without another word, leaves the house. Adam is still standing by the door, watching me.
‘If you need anything, just let me know.’ Adam says, rolling on his heels.
‘Thank you for your help, Adam. I owe you.’ He stuffs his hands in his jeans and his cheeks pinken at my complement.
He ran a hand through his blond hair, ‘Maybe next time we can talk about that date.’ There’s a chorus of coos from Laura and Lyss heightening the embarrassment I feel. I was kind of hoping he’d forget that.
‘Oh yeah, sure.’ I give him an awkward smile. I need to talk to Devin about how we handle this. Adam’s cute but I don’t think he’d be interested in me if he found out I banged his best friend which isn’t something I’m going to admit in front of everyone.
‘Alright, I’m going to head out. See you guys later,’ he says, waving us off as he shuts the door. I spend the next few minutes convincing Laura and Lyss that there’s nothing going on between Adam and me and I make a mental note to talk to him before this can go any further. He’s a great guy and deserves someone who isn’t lusting after his friend.
Luckily, we were disrupted by a threatening message from Aiden who had discovered the glitter almost immediately. Apparently, we should sleep with one eye open because things are going to get a lot worse. I still have no idea how I ended up in this stupid prank war.
Later that night, when I’m lying in my bed, I look over at Devin’s room. The light still hasn’t come on. It’s midnight and he has yet to set foot in his bedroom. All the other guys came back within an hour of Aiden and Adam, except Devin. My mind immediately starts to think the worst. What if he was in an accident? Or he’s lying in a ditch somewhere needing help? Surely the guys would be more panicked if that was the case. From what I can tell, they’re all still inside the house playing games.
A gasp involuntarily escapes my lips. What if they aren’t worried because he’s with another girl? It’s not like he’s touched me in a sexual way since that first night and maybe all of those stolen glances and sexual tension were in my head. Maybe he’s out there sowing his wild oats without giving me a second thought and I’m the one sitting here in his sweatshirt waiting for him even though I told him we’re nothing.
Rolling over to the other side, I stare at my bathroom door running through all our interactions. Apart from the occasional flirty comment, he’s given me no sign he’s interested in me. I shouldn’t be this invested in a one-night stand. That’s what I have to remind myself. He’s a one-night stand. At most we’re friends because he’s doing exactly as I asked, keeping us private.
It’s three days before I see his light come on.
