“Bedroom partners?” TJ’s eyes narrowed again, but he looked unconvinced as he surveyed my face.
“Fuck-buddies, friends with benefits, hook-up pals—you get the drift,” I said with a sweet smile as his chin hardened. TJ was starting to look pissed, and I loved it.
“You’re telling me you have a fuck-buddy?” he said, his tone edgy, and he stepped towards me again, his brow furrowed as his eyes darkened.
“What’s it to you?” I said softly. “Isn’t that exactly what Barbie is to you?” I said softly, and he growled and turned away from me.
“I’m not playing these games with you, Mila. Grab your stuff. I’ll be in the living room.” He stopped at my door and turned back to look at me. “And call Sally. I’m not going to wait around all day for your best friend to show up. We have places to be. And I’m not planning on arriving late. You’re the one who confirmed the time with me.”
“Well, it’s not like anyone will be up waiting for us,” I said, annoyed at his tone. “My parents, who still haven’t called me, won’t be there and Cody’s not arriving until tomorrow, right?”
“Barbie and I have plans for the night.” He grinned. “I want to make sure they happen and I don’t fall asleep as soon as we arrive.”
“Well, maybe I can ask Troy to drive Sally and me up,” I said, snapping at him. “I’m sure he won’t mind.”
“Troy?” He lifted an eyebrow.
“My boyfriend.”
“So Troy is coming on this trip?” he asked, his right eyebrow still raised. “Cody didn’t tell me that.”
“It was going to be a surprise,” I said churlishly, fiddling with my hair again and wondering where I could get a ‘Troy’ from at this late notice.
“Am I giving him a ride as well?” he said, his tone annoyed. “And is he chipping in for gas?”
“Is Barbie going to be chipping in for gas?” I said, annoyed. “And no, he’s not riding up with us, he’s driving his own car up. His Mercedes-Benz sports car, to be exact.”
“So, why aren’t you riding in his sports car, as well?” TJ asked in that matter-of-fact way that let me know that he wasn’t buying in a million years that there was a Troy or that he had a Mercedes-Benz sports car.
“Because…” I stammered, trying to think of a reason. My mind was going blank and I tried not to glare at TJ. He was hot, but sometimes he was just so annoying. It was as if he deliberately tried to taunt me and make me feel like a loser. I wondered if he had any idea of the plans I had for him and the weekend. He wouldn’t be looking so cocky and self-assured then. He had no idea that ‘little Mila’ had grown up. I wasn’t some little innocent girl that he could put down and make fun of. I was going to show him exactly how grown up I was now. I was going to show him that I was all adult. That would wipe that smug smile off of his face.
“Because he doesn’t have a Benz?” He smirked. “What does he have? A Honda? Hyundai?”
“What’s wrong with a Honda? I have a Honda.”
“Yeah, you do,” he said, smirk still on his face, and I wanted to punch him.
“We can’t all afford Range Rovers,” I said and then smiled sweetly. “We don’t all have rich parents.”
“Nice try, Mila. You know I bought this car with my own money.”
“Whatever,” I said, feeling very much like a little girl again, or at least a petulant teenager.
“So what’s going on? Is RoboTron coming? Where’s Sally?” TJ looked at his watch and then back at me. “I don’t have all day.”
“His name is Troy and I already told you that no, he is not coming. Let me call Sally and see where she is.” I grabbed my phone and tried to keep my cool.
“Yeah, that would be good. I’d like to get out of here sometime this year.”
“Cry me a river,” I sang and he laughed.
“Call Sally, dork.”
“Hold on.” I unlocked my phone and punched in Sally’s digits and listened to the phone ringing.
“Wassup,” she said happily as she answered the phone.
“I’m here with King TJ and he’s wondering where you are,” I said and gave TJ a look.
“I’m on the way.” She giggled. “I had to make a pit stop.”
“Pit stop?”
“Lingerie.” She giggled.
“What?” I kept a straight face, but my face was burning. “You too?”
“Yeah, you gave me the idea,” she said. “It’s going to be game-on this weekend. I’m going to be on Cody like a tornado hitting the Midwest.”
“Sally,” I groaned, but I couldn’t stop myself from laughing. TJ was looking at me with a weird look and I couldn’t stop the sly smile from crossing my face. He had absolutely no idea what was going to happen this weekend. I stared into his eyes and wondered what his face would look like when I sauntered into his room in my silky negligee and asked him what he thought of the look. He’d be drooling. I could almost picture the saliva falling from his mouth, like a dog that had seen a big, juicy bone.
“You okay, Mila?” TJ frowned at me.
“Yeah, why?” I blinked at him, feeling like an idiot. I’d totally spaced out.
“Why?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’re standing there with a dumb look on your face and I still haven’t heard when Sally will be here.”
“TJ’s in a good mood, isn’t he?” Sally said in my ear and laughed.
“Yeah, you know him,” I said in a snide tone. “Life of the party.”
“Well, we both know that you can change that.”
“True.” I giggled. “Oh, by the way,” I said softly, looking at TJ as I spoke, “Troy said he might be able to make it up there this weekend.”
“Who?” Sally said loudly and I quickly lowered the volume of the speaker from the buttons at the side.
“He’s just getting his Mercedes-Benz out of the garage.”
“Who’s getting their Mercedes out of the garage?” Sally sounded confused. “And who the hell is Troy?”
“Yes, they said it was an engine issue. Apparently, he was driving too fast when he went racing the other day,” I continued on, with a small smile on my face. TJ was staring at me with a concentrated expression and I just stood there talking like some fool.
“Earth to Mila,” Sally said, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.”
“I told Troy that he can sleep in my bed tonight,” I said and giggled. “I told him to make sure that he—”
“Oh, is Troy your fake boyfriend?” Sally said, laughing.
“Why yes, I think that is true,” I said, trying not to give anything away to TJ.
“You’re trying to make TJ jealous? Am I right?” Sally said, acting like Sherlock Holmes. Sally was a district manager for a local cable company and was applying to get her MBA, so she liked to act like she was super intelligent, which she was.
“Yeah, I think that is right,” I said and pressed the phone closer to my ear to make sure that TJ really didn’t hear anything.
“You’re so bad, Mila.” She giggled. “Only you would think of a Troy.”
“Yeah, so I think it could get serious with Troy and me,” I said with a smile and I saw TJ’s eyes narrowing. “I think he is going to ask me to move in with him this weekend.”
“No way.” Sally screeched and I laughed. She was really playing her role well. “Oh wait,” she said sheepishly. “I forgot Troy was made up for a second. I thought you really were going to be moving in with your boyfriend.”
“Sally.” I tried not to roll my eyes. “So, we’ll see you soon?”
“I’ll be there in about ten minutes,” she said. “See you then.”
“See ya,” I said and then hung up. “She’ll be here in ten minutes,” I said to TJ and he just nodded. I watched as he pulled his phone out and made a call.
“Hey, sweet lips,” he purred into the phone and this time I did roll my eyes. “My best friend’s sister is waiting on her best friend, so we’re running a little late. Yeah, Cody’s sister.” He turned around and looked at me as he listened to whatever Barbie was saying. “She’s not dressed up, so don’t worry about it.” He looked me up and down and I felt my body shivering as his eyes stayed on my breasts for a little bit longer than was necessary. “No, Barbie. We’ve never hooked up.” He spoke into the phone, but his eyes gazed into mine. “She’s my best friend’s kid sister and she still acts like she’s a teenager. You have nothing to worry about.”
I glared at him as he spoke and then pushed past him and headed towards the bathroom, my face a bright red. Kid sister, my ass. And how dare he say I act like a teenager? Who the hell did he think he was? Father Brown or something? I was furious as I slammed the bathroom door and splashed my face with some water. I took a couple of deep breaths and finally calmed myself down. I wasn’t sure if I was so angry because he was essentially calling me immature, or if I was angry because he made it seem as if he would never be physically interested in someone like me. Like I was some sort of slob or something. I’d show him—and Barbie—that I, Mila Antonia Brookstone, was not someone to be taken lightly.