Tinley's lips curve in a very familiar shape, a shape that I've seen on a hundred other girls. It says I so want to fuck you.
Brooke notices and her face falls completely, crashing into this expression of dread that makes my heart hurt for her. Damn. Damn. Damn.
“I took Tinley to prom,” I say, lifting up my palm in a useless gesture. I don't mention the fact that we fucked in the back of my Geo both before and after prom. Doubt Brooke wants to know about that.
“This is such a crazy coincidence,” Tinley says as she moves over to me in her neon pink heels and gestures me in for a hug. She smells like this wild perfume, some hipster scent that smells like cloves and tobacco. Brooke watches our entire exchange with a a frown. “We were planning on studying, but now that I see you're here, maybe we could do something a little more exciting?”
“I have to pick up the kids pretty quick here,” I say as I reach up and scratch at the back of my head. “What did you have in mind?”
“The kids?” Tinley asks as she raises her brows at me, pink painted lips picking up at the corners as she takes me in again, much more slowly this time. It's not a mystery to anyone in here that she's checking me out. I feel bad for Brooke, like maybe I should say something. But we're not together, so what the hell am I going to do? Blurt out how I took her virginity last week? Naw. Not my style.
“Zayden's helping me with my sister's kids,” Brooke says as she gestures at me and tries to explain our weird temporary situation. “She took off and left the country, so I'm taking care of them. I kind of hired Zayden as my nanny.”
“That is so fucking cute,” Tinley says as she runs her long rainbow colored nails through her hair and smiles wickedly in my direction. Either she's not picking up on the leave my man the fuck alone vibes that Brooke's giving off or she doesn't care. I'm not entirely sure what to think about the whole damn situation. I mean, it's cute that Brooke's looking at Tinley like she's the enemy, like I really am her guy. But it's also kind of terrifying, too. “Well, maybe when you get off work, the two of us could hang out?”
“I'm actually on my way back to Vegas in a few days,” I say with a slight shrug, but that doesn't do much help Brooke's expression. “Kind of working nonstop until then. I've got my brother's kids to take care of, too, until he gets back into town.”
“Vegas? Seriously? My best friend's getting married there next week. We're all flying out to hang for a weekend.” Tinley gets her phone from her back pocket and passes it to me. “Plug your number in and maybe we could hang out then? What do you do there?”
“I work as a body piercer,” I say as I toss the gloves onto the table next to Sadie's crib and start typing in my digits. Brooke watches me the entire time, but doesn't say a word, pushing her glasses gently up her nose. She's wearing the big, thick black ones again. No time for contacts since I made her late as fuck this morning.
A slight smile twitches my mouth that I think she misinterprets, glancing away towards the kitchen.
“We can study in here,” Brooke says as Tinley curls her fingers around the edge of Sadie's crib and leans in to study her sleeping face.
“Awesome. I'll be right there,” she says as she grins at the sleeping baby, and Brooke moves in a swirl of camel coat into the kitchen.
It's like so fucking awkward in here right now. Total bummer, too, since I was hoping Brooke and I would get a moment alone before the kids got out of school. Ugh.
“This is Rob's baby?” Tinley asks as I hand her phone back and tuck my fingers into the front pockets of my dark green skinny jeans. I nod my head as Tinley bites her lower lip and leans in again to run her fingers down one of the baby's chubby arms. “She is so goddamn cute.” A quick, coy glance up from beneath long dark lashes. “Have any of your own yet?”
“Me? Oh, hell no. Not ready for kids yet.”
Tinley nods slowly as she stands up straight, reaching up to adjust the dark sunglasses nestled in her electric blue hair.
“Me neither,” she says as she smiles at me and I try to figure out what it is that I'm feeling right now. Off my game, that's for sure. No doubt about that. But … I've got this hot as fuck chick staring at me like I'm tomorrow's breakfast sausage, and all I can do is stand here and stare. All I can do is stand here and feel guilty. Like, what the hell is that about?
Maybe it's because Brooke and I have an arrangement. I mean, we do, don't we? She was supposed to be mine while I was in town, so I guess that makes me hers, too, right? If anything's going to happen between Tinley and me, it'll have to be in Las Vegas after all this is over. Yep. That's the source of my guilt right there.