locking his fingers with hers. “Princess, shut it.”
Tamara’s head jerks back. “Excuse me?”
“There isn’t anyone else in the world I’d put up with on a daily basis except you. I’m right where I want to be, and I happily accepted that fate years ago. But your cousin over there acts like he has some choice in the matter, when his head and heart are already playing tricks on him.”
“That was kind of sweet.”
“I have everything I want in the world—a wife, kids, a business—but Carmello is just now coming to terms with the simple fact that life needs to be filled with more than easy pussy.”
“In the name of honesty, Tamara was easy pussy,” Gigi adds with a snort.
Tamara’s eyes snap to Gigi and narrow. “Um, you literally had your mouth wrapped around a stranger’s dick within an hour of meeting him.”
Pike smiles. “That stranger was happy too.”
“Stop,” I mutter, not wanting to hear their mushy bullshit. “I’m not in love with Arlo.”
“Didn’t say love, brother,” Mammoth says. “But she’s under your skin, and there’s no easy way of getting her out. It’s best to just give in and see where the shit lands in the end.”
“Fuckin’ great,” I grumble against the rim of my beer, glaring at Lily. “You did this.”
She lifts her hands, giving me an innocent smile. “I did nothing. I put someone in your path, but the rest is all you, cousin.”
“I’ve been in your shoes, man,” Jett tells me with his arm slung around Lily’s chair. “Just give in and let whatever’s about to happen, happen, or you’re going to be one miserable bastard.”
“I already am,” I mumble against my beer, knowing Arlo’s already fucked with my head.
13
An hour later, I’m standing on the front step of Arlo’s place, hands tucked in my pockets, waiting for her to answer.
The front light is turned on, and then nothing for a few seconds before she says, “What are you doing here?” from the other side of the door.
I stare at the peephole, knowing she’s looking at me. “Arlo, open up.”
“I’m not decent.”
I smirk. “And that’s a problem, how?”
“It’s late,” she says, her voice muffled by the door, sounding a million miles away.
“We have shit that needs to be said.”
“We do not,” she shoots back immediately. “Go home, Carmello.”
I rest my hands on either side of the door, moving my face closer to try to see her inside, even though it’s futile. “No, sugar. I’m not leaving.”
“You had no problem leaving before.”
Bing-fucking-o.
“Come on. Let me in to explain.”
“Explain from there,” she tells me.
I growl, gripping the frame tighter, and rest my head against the door. “I’ll stand here until morning if I have to.”
The light switches off, and I’m cast back into darkness. Un-fucking-believable. The woman has big-ass balls, and she is sporting them for me right now.
“Arlo,” I beg, not hearing her walk away. “Please.”
“Give me one good reason to let you in.”
I let my head fall forward, holding on to the doorframe, my body stretched out and boots firmly planted on the cement. “I could’ve kissed a woman tonight. Hell, I could’ve fucked her in the bathroom.”
“You’re not winning me over,” she interrupts.
I lift my head, staring straight into the peephole, and hope she can see my face. “The important word is could’ve.”
“You should’ve,” she bites out. “We’re not in a relationship, Mello. You don’t have any loyalty to me.”
I take a deep breath, remembering Arlo doesn’t know me and she’s pissed. She’s super pissed, in fact—not about the chick, but because I left without so much as saying goodbye. It was a dick move, especially since I didn’t contact her after either. “Fuck,” I groan. “You know why I didn’t, and you’re pissed at me for the same reason.”
“Nope,” she clips. “And it’s none of my business.”
“I didn’t and couldn’t because, even with her in front of me, offering herself up on a platter, all I could see was your face.”
“Am I supposed to be flattered by that?”
I peer up and grunt. “What are we, Arlo?”
“I don’t know.”
“What do you want to be?” I ask.
Silence.
“I thought we were going to be friends at the most— and at the very least, acquaintances—but fuck me, one night with you and…”
The door opens a few inches, and I see half her beautiful face, with her body hidden behind the door. “And?” she asks, her eyes staring into mine.
I don’t let go or move a muscle but keep rolling with what I had been about to say before. “And