“Give it to me.” I wiggled my finger, indicating for her to hand it over, and she laughed just as the apartment door came open. “The alcohol has arrived,” Maddison announced as she held up not one but two bottles. I took the opportunity to snatch my phone from Raven.
“What’s going on in here?” Maddy asked.
“Rhett’s sending dirty messages to AJ.”
Maddison looked at me with intrigue as she closed the door behind her and moved eagerly in our direction. “I’ve always imagined him to be a little dirty. All dominant and forceful but in the hottest kind of way.” She placed the bottles on the coffee table before us. “Does he talk dirty too, ya know,” she waves her hand out in that go on manner, “during naughty times?”
“He’s your cousin,” I said, holding my phone securely against my chest, refusing to allow either of them to see what he was sending. The continuous buzzing indicated he was still messaging me.
“We’re not really related, so I’m still allowed to wonder,” Maddison declared. “I would never act on my curiosities, so please do tell.”
“No.” I shook my hand, unable to hold back the laugh that escaped me. “I’m not talking about this with either of you.”
“Oh, he’s dirty,” Raven finally added. “Look at how red her cheeks are.”
“I knew it,” Maddy added with a pleased smile. “I imagined Mikey to be the same way. After being gone for so long, serving his country and limited access to those wild ways of men his age. I bet he’s all into that take control and demand what he needs kinda stuff.”
“You’re starting to scare me,” I told Maddy as I still held my phone hostage from the both of them.
“Like I said, neither of them are actually related to me. I’ve just been around them for so long they feel like brothers. It doesn’t mean I can’t wonder about those things, but I would never act on them. That would be too weird.” She wrinkled up her nose and her eyes squinted with a look of disgust. “But I am not opposed to hearing the details.”
“No,” I said sternly and found both Raven and Maddison sharing some type of a smile I assumed held some hidden message. “Rhett is different than I imagined him to be.” A warm sensation filled my body. “He’s the perfect combination of sweet and spicy, that’s all I’ll reveal.”
“We’ll just wait until she passes out then steal her phone and have a look ourselves.” Raven shrugged it off as she grabbed the bottle of wine and began to pour Maddy a glass before topping off her own. Soon the two of them were lost in talk of patients and the hectic life of being nurses.
I took the opportunity to finally look at the messages Rhett sent.
Rhett: I miss you.
Rhett: Decided to stay at my place tonight, but feeling lonely without my girl.
The messages seemed simple enough until I got to the last few.
Rhett: Would it convince you to come back to Brooklet if I told you that I’m laying on our blanket, in our spot, naked?
Rhett: Imagining my hand to be yours as I stroke myself.
And suddenly my cheeks felt flushed and my body felt warm.
Instead of texting him back, I called as I slipped away from the living room and into the kitchen. “It was the last message that got you, wasn’t it?” I could almost imagine that damned cocky smile on his face. His voice was laced with a hunger I’d seen often when he and I found ourselves alone.
“Just so you know, my sister was the receiver of all the messages you sent.”
“What?” That huskiness was suddenly replaced with curiosity. “How?”
“She grabbed my phone and then Maddison walked in and they proceeded to talk about how Maddy thought you had a hidden dirty side.” I smiled when I heard him chuckle. “I had to wait for Raven to let her guard down before I could snatch my phone back.”
“I guess it’s a good thing that I didn’t send a dick pic.”
“You weren’t,” I gasped.
“Oh, I was,” he assured me. “I was gonna prove to you that I was, in fact, laying in our spot with my dick in hand.”
“Hold that idea,” I said, peeking around the corner to ensure that Raven and Maddison were still occupied. “I’ll be back tomorrow, and you can just show me in the flesh.”
“Come straight here once you’re back in town.” He wasn’t asking, and I found his commanding ways sexy in times like this. It just proved how much he needed me. And being needed by Rhett was something I had dreamed of often.
“Promise.”
“I do miss you, Allison Jo.” I closed my eyes when he said my full name. “More than I can explain.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.” I took in a deep breath and whispered “Goodbye” as I ended the call.
Chapter Fourteen
Rhett
“I want the couch right there,” I pointed toward the window, “kicked sideways, actually. Enough that you can see the television as well as overlook the lake too.”
“Dude,” Mickey said from my left. “Are you getting sappy on us?”
“AJ likes the view,” I said without looking at him. “And that exact spot holds some really great memories so far.”
Everyone pitched in, and first thing that morning we all started cleaning up my place. The windows were cleaned, the floor polished and vacuumed. Thanks to my mom and Aunt Maria, there were curtains, or drapes, whatever the hell they called them, covering each window.
Things were really starting to come together.
“When is your girl expected back?”
I stared ahead and watched as Dad and Uncle Gavin set the couch centered on the area rug, just before the large floor-to-ceiling
