The list of things I’d rather do besides go on a weekend trip with my ex-best friend and the redheaded menace included, but was not limited to, feeding my hand through a woodchipper, eating a pound of raw maggots, and watching Glitter on repeat with my eyes taped open.
But—and this was a big but—it was Ava’s birthday, and the resort had a triple black diamond. I’d never skied a triple black diamond before.
The prospect of the challenge sent a rush through my blood. I would be an idiot to turn the opportunity down.
“Josh.”
My spine stiffened when Alex appeared, the glass of Coke and whiskey in his hand matching mine.
“Alex.”
I kept my eyes on the dance floor where Ava and her friends were partying like it was 1999. We’d long dispersed from our table, and the rest of the guests had stopped gawking at Bridget and transitioned to sneaking peeks in between songs. Her security had temporarily confiscated everyone’s phones, but I bet a few people had snapped pictures of her when she arrived and said pictures would be splashed all over the gossip sites by tomorrow morning.
“Surprised you’re not out there with everyone else.” Alex leaned against the wall, his eyes also on the party, though they were trained only on Ava. “You used to be the first person on the dance floor.”
“Yes, well.” I drained my drink in one long gulp. “A lot has changed since college.”
The unspoken meaning hung sharp and heavy between us, like a guillotine waiting to drop.
Once, Alex and I had been best friends.
Now, we were strangers with only one commonality tying us together.
If it weren’t for Ava, I would happily never see or speak to Alex again.
At least, that was what I told myself.
“Vermont wasn’t my idea,” Alex said, sidestepping the elephant in the room.
“I know. Ava isn’t as sneaky as she thinks she is.”
She’d been trying to get me and Alex to make up for over a year. She may have forgiven him for lying to us to get closer to my father, whom Alex thought had been the one behind his family’s murder, but the betrayal ran deeper for me.
Ava and Alex had only been dating for a few months when he discovered his uncle was the real culprit and he revealed the truth behind his revenge plan. But he and I had been friends for eight years.
I’d invited Alex into my home. Treated him like a brother. Shared secrets and advice and things I’d never told my own family. And all that time, he’d been lying to me. Using me.
The whiskey aftertaste turned bitter on my tongue.
“She misses you,” Alex said quietly.
“I’m right here.” I glanced at the bar. “We text all the time.”
“You know what I mean.”
“I don’t, actually.”
His mouth flattened into a tight line. “You’ve been acting different lately. Ava is worried—”
“Dude, stop.” I held up my hand. “If Ava is worried about me, she can tell me herself. But don’t act like we’re going to be best friends again. We’re not. Because you know what’s required in a friendship? Trust. And you lost mine a long time ago.”
I stepped around Alex before he could respond and went straight to the bar, my throat and chest tight. He didn’t follow me, and I didn’t expect him to. He didn’t chase after anyone except Ava. It was the only reason I hadn’t put up more of a fight when they got back together.
For all his faults and fuckups, Alex really did love my sister. I wanted her to be safe and happy, and if she was safe and happy with him, then I could suck it up and act civil.
That didn’t mean I had to have heartfelt conversations with him on the sidelines of the dance floor though.
“Hey, man.” I nodded at the bartender. “Tequila shot. Make it a double.”
I needed something stronger than whiskey to get through the rest of the party.
“You got it.”
I’d just tucked a couple of dollars in the tip jar when I was interrupted, yet again, by a wholly unwelcome interloper.
“Trouble in bromanceland?” The silky purr sent a ripple of irritation and something else I couldn’t name down my spine.
“Beat it, JR. I’m not in the mood.” I didn’t turn my head to look at Jules, but I could see the flash of distinctive red hair and the gold sparkles of her dress out of the corner of my eye.
“Your nicknaming skills leave a lot to be desired, Joshy.” Jules came up beside me and smiled at the bartender, who stopped making my drink to smile back at her. “I’ll have a Sex on the Beach, if that’s not too much to ask.” She tapped her nail on the menu, which listed only basic drinks like screwdrivers and cranberry vodkas and certainly no fucking Sex on the Beach.
The bartender’s eyes gleamed. “For a beautiful girl like you, nothing is too much to ask.”
The line was so cliche I barely held back a snort.
“Thank you.” Jules’s smile widened.
If another group of guests hadn’t come up to order, I was sure I would’ve witnessed more nauseating flirting. Thankfully, the bartender got distracted and quickly finished making our drinks before tending to the half dozen people vying for his attention.
“Slumming already?” I tsked in mock disappointment. “I expected better of you.”
“Why? Because he’s a bartender and not a doctor?” Jules arched an eyebrow. “Your snobbery is showing.”
“No. Because his lines are as pathetic as your attempt to slander me.” I tossed back my shot and didn’t bother with a chaser. “But hey, whatever floats your boat.”
“Don’t try to deflect from your own failed relationship.”
“I’m not in a relationship.” And I had zero interest in entering one anytime soon. Sex was just that, sex. Not a prelude to dating or matching couples’ outfits or whatever people were into. I made sure every woman I slept with knew the deal, because I didn’t believe in leading people on or giving them false hope.
My residency took up most of my time, and even if I wasn’t so busy, my desire for a long-term girlfriend hovered somewhere south of zero. I wasn’t made for the commitment game. I always got bored after a few weeks, and the whole couple thing sounded exhausting. Constant dates, phone calls, checking in with the other person…
I shuddered at the thought.
Good for the people who were happy and in love, but I wasn’t one of them and I never would be.
“I’m talking about Alex.” Jules received her drink from the bartender with a flirty smile before turning back to me. “I remember when you two were practically joined at the hip.”
A stone fist squeezed my chest, but I kept my tone light. “Didn’t realize you were so interested in my personal life, JR.”
“I’m not, unless it happens to affect my personal quality of life.” Jules took a delicate sip of her cocktail. “And since we’re all going on an overnight trip together, this stupid grudge you hold against Alex directly impacts me and Ava.”
I tightened my grip around my glass and imagined it was Jules’s throat. “Stupid?” A sharp edge bled through and colored the word with venom. “Stupid is a fight over which movie to watch. Stupid describes whatever poor schmuck ends up marrying you. But I assure you, it does not apply to what happened with Alex. Don’t talk about things you know nothing about.”
Jules didn’t back down from my glare. “I may not have been personally involved in your…situation,” she said with more tact than I thought her capable of. “But I am best friends with Ava. I know what happened, and it happened almost two years ago. She’s forgiven Alex. He’s apologized. It’s time to grow up and move on.”
For once, I didn’t detect any snark, just straightforward advice, but that didn’t stop my muscles from bunching with tension. “Easy for you to say.” God, I needed another drink. “Come back to me when you’ve been betrayed by someone close to you.”
Something dark flickered in Jules’s eyes. “How do you know I haven’t already?”
I stilled.
How do you know I haven’t already?
I didn’t know much about Jules’s past. Hell, I didn’t know much about her at all beyond what she showed people—the brash attitude, the brazen flirtatiousness, the strange mix of ruthless ambition and reckless partying.
But I did know that one sentence she’d just uttered rang truer than anything else I’d heard in years.
My gaze locked onto Jules, whose wide eyes and slightly parted lips revealed her surprise at the words that’d just left her mouth.
I swallowed the urge to ask her what happened while the air between us thickened with…not camaraderie, exactly, but a hint of understanding that eased some of the pressure in my chest.
We didn’t have the type of relationship where we discussed our problems with each other. Even if we did, I doubted Jules would answer my question. It wasn’t in her nature to display vulnerability.
She straightened, a shutter falling over her face and erasing all traces of her previous softness. “Whether you forgive Alex or not is up to you. Just don’t ruin everyone else’s fun with your sulking…though your mere presence may be enough to achieve that goal.”
With that, she swanned off, her hips swaying and her head held high.
A low growl rose in my throat before I caught myself. There was no use wasting energy fuming over her. I needed to save every ounce for ensuring I didn’t kill her in Vermont. As satisfying as it would be, I wasn’t throwing away my future for a moment of extreme satisfaction.
I shifted my attention back to the bartender, eager to order another shot, only to find him staring at a certain spot on the dance floor with a besotted expression.
No, not spot. Person.
Jules raised her arms over her head and rolled her hips to the music in a way that had every man around her drooling. She looked over her shoulder and winked at the bartender before shooting me a smug stare.
I did the most mature thing I could think of: I flipped her off.
She laughed, her expression growing smugger, before she turned her back on me.
“She’s so hot.” The bartender’s eyes glinted in a way that sharpened my already raised hackles. “Please tell me she’s single.”
I masked my irritation with a tight smile. “You know what a succubus is?”
He scratched his chin. The group from earlier had rejoined the party, leaving just us at the bar. “Are those the little plants? My sister loves those things. Got a whole windowsill full of ‘em.”
“No, man. Those are succulents.” I lowered my voice. “A succubus is a demon that appears in the form of a beautiful woman to seduce men and suck the life force out of them. They’re supposed to be mythical, but…” I gestured in Jules’s direction. “She’s a real-life succubus. Don’t fall for her trap. There’s a vicious demon lurking beneath that pretty face.”
It was impossible for an actual human being to have hair that red, eyes that fierce, and curves that lush. Supernatural hijinks were the only thing that made sense.
“Oh.” The bartender’s eyes widened. “Does that mean she’ll sleep with me?”
Oh, for fuck’s sake.
“You’ll have to ask her.” I leaned closer like I was telling him a secret. “Here’s a tip. She loves when people compare her to Jessica Rabbit. Tell her how much you’ve always wanted to bang a real-life JR and you’re in. Bonus points if you call her JR. It’s her favorite nickname.”
He frowned. “Really?”
“Trust me.” I rubbed a hand over my mouth to hide my shit-eating grin. This was like taking candy from a baby. “I’ve known her for years. The comparison really gets her going.”
“Sweet.” The bartender’s skeptical expression cleared, replaced with a delighted smile. “Thanks, man.” He clapped me on the shoulder and poured me another shot. “On the house.”
It was a free open bar so all the drinks were technically on the house, but I didn’t point that out. Instead, I lifted my glass in thanks and grinned harder when I pictured Jules’s reaction to being called JR by the bartender.
She was so predictable. She might as well mark all the buttons I could push with giant, glowing X’s.
And yet…
How do you know I haven’t already?
My glass paused at my lips for a fraction of a second before I shook my head and welcomed the fiery burn of tequila down my throat.
Still, her words echoed in my mind and drove me crazy with their ambiguity.
Who could’ve betrayed Jules? She’d never had a big fallout with Ava, Bridget, or Stella, nor had she had a real boyfriend in the years I’ve known her. Our aversion to committed relationships was one of the few things we had in common.
Was it a high school boyfriend who broke her heart? A family member who fucked her over?
My eyes drifted to the dance floor again. Jules was still dancing with abandon to a remix of the latest pop hit. Ava said something to her, and she threw her head back, her throaty laugh carrying over the music.
Sparkling dress. Sparkling eyes. Looking for all the world like any beautiful, carefree girl with the world at her feet.
How do you know I haven’t already?
I wondered what secrets Jules was hiding beneath that party girl exterior.
And, more importantly, I wondered why I cared.
