Sir barked.
A laugh bubbled in Tori’s throat. She tilted her head and stuck her hand on her hip. “Please. I’m sure you’re still able to bang everything with a pulse, as usual, which means you’re fine. Get over it, Jamie, and grow some balls. I cried less when I watched Bambi the first time.”
“Who’s hungry?” Syd asked nonchalantly, moving behind her girl to round the island and stand near the stove.
I ignored her question because, What the fuck? Grow some balls?
Fuck her.
“I gotta pair, babe,” I told Legs, reaching down and palming my shit. “You should know since you’ve been all up on ’em the past nine months.”
She rolled her eyes, spitting, “You’re disgusting.”
I felt my mouth twitch.
And that was when, for some fucked-up reason, I reverted back to my old ways with Tori Rivera, forgetting all about how much I fucking hated her and instead going full-on, hell-bent determined to get an admission out of that smart-ass mouth.
“You want it,” I countered, tipping my chin up.
She wasn’t expecting that. No more than I was. It threw her off.
Her shoulders pulled back and her lips parted.
Then, maybe to cover her tell, or maybe she didn’t have control over what was flying out of her mouth either, I didn’t know, but she brought her other hand to her hip, glared at me with heat flashing in her eyes, tipped forward, and shot back with attitude, “You want it.”
Well, shit. This was new. Legs was challenging me and she was doing it flirting. There was no doubt in my mind.
“Sorry, babe,” I said, keeping the smirk and letting go of my junk. “Not interested. I told you yesterday, I’m done waitin’ around. But you?” I pointed my beer at her. “You’ll be beggin’ for it before the month is up. Just watch.”
“Fat chance,” she snapped. “I wouldn’t sleep with you if my life depended on it.”
“Wanna bet?”
“Bet what?”
“What’s going on right now?” Syd called out, but I wasn’t pausing to answer her.
I smiled at Tori, then gestured between us, explaining, “First one to break and come crawling to the other person for sex loses.”
“Are you serious?” She laughed, not in amusement but in disbelief.
“Fuck this. I’m eating,” Dash announced, stepping around me and joining Syd, I guessed. I wasn’t watching him.
I was watching her.
“Yeah, I’m serious,” I answered.
“You want to bet me that I’ll want to have sex with you before you try and have sex with me?” she questioned, moving her finger between us. “You, the guy who has been hitting on me for nine straight months and has been rejected for nine straight months? You seriously think I’ll not only want to have sex with you, but I’ll beg you for it? Is that what I just heard?”
I nodded slowly.
That fucking moan. I had this in the bag.
Tori thought on my offer for a second, keeping her eyes on me and keeping them steady, then when she was finished, she crossed her arms under her chest and huffed, “No way. I’m not betting that.”
I smiled bigger.
“Knew you wanted it,” I replied.
“No,” she quickly shot back. “I just know you. You’ll keep your dick happy by nailing every piece of ass in Dogwood so you don’t break and beg me for sex. I’m not stupid.”
I shrugged. “Make it a rule then,” I offered.
“What?”
“A rule. No fucking anyone unless it’s each other.”
Her eyes bugged.
“And no masturbating either,” I added, raising my beer and using it to gesture. “Since we both know when you do it you’re thinkin’ about me, and if you’re that fuckin’ horny, you need to rub one out or you’ll fuckin’ explode, you can come to me, Legs, beg, and I’ll put that fire out for you.”
Her mouth dropped open.
“This is not at all how I thought this evening would play out,” Syd whispered off to the side. “Are you as shocked as I am?”
“Wild, don’t,” Dash mumbled. “Doesn’t involve us. Just eat.”
I briefly glanced at Dash and Syd, saw Dash with his head down, eating, eyes focused on his plate, and Syd with her attention focused solely on me and not the plate in front of her. Then I turned back to Tori, crossed my arms over my chest while keeping hold of my beer, and asked, “What do you say, babe? You in?”
Tori regained her steely composure and questioned with a sharp voice, “Do you really think you can beat me on this? Go without masturbating and sex, with anyone, and keep yourself away from me?”
“Didn’t say that was part of it,” I replied. “You’ll be seeing a lot of me, Legs, ’cause I know what seeing me does to you, and if I’m gonna win, I’m using every advantage I got. But yeah, babe, that aside, I know I can beat you. Told you before. I don’t lose.” I leaned forward and finished with emphasis, “Ever.”
“Well, you’ll be losing on this,” she hissed, leaning forward to deliver her own emphasis. “That’s for damn sure.” Then Tori turned her head, gave Syd a sweet look, and declared, “Thanks for the invite, but I’m no longer hungry. Call me later.”
“Okay,” Syd replied, lifting her hand in a wave. “Thanks for the pie.”