Violence (Antihero Inferno #3) - Lily White Page 0,58
her, so I’m happy for them.
Spotting them as soon as I reach the top of the escalator, I force a smile on my face and pretend I don’t have the weight of the world sitting uncomfortably on my shoulders.
It’s the same old pressure as usual.
The marriage.
The twins.
A world of hurt I know is coming for everybody on the day I finally say I do.
Trying not to think about that, or what else I’m doing today, I run up to their table and hug them both.
“Woman, it’s about damn time,” Ivy says, her blue eyes sparkling. “What took you so long? We almost gave up on you.”
“Dylan blocked me in with his fancy schmancy Porsche. I had to wake his ass up to get him to move it, but then I ran into my dad who read me the riot act.”
Ava cocks a brow in question, but Ivy only grins.
“Probably has something to do with you fucking the twins this past weekend, right? Girl, you’re brave. That’s all I have to say about that.”
“Again?” Ava asks, true surprise on her face. “I thought you cut them off after high school.”
Before I can answer, Ivy asks, “I mean, can you fault her, though? Who wouldn’t want to take on those two? They were nice to look at in high school, but they grew up to become something else.”
Ava shakes her head. “They scare the crap out of me.”
“That’s part of the fun,” Ivy says, laughter coating her voice.
I have to cut this off before it goes too far. The last thing I want to talk about is the twins. Especially with this screwed up six weeks of friendship I’m facing.
“First, I didn’t fuck them.”
“In my dad’s office,” Ivy interrupts, glancing at Ava. “It’s like she was trying to get caught.”
“Okay, that wasn’t planned,” I argue. “And you have no room to talk after giving Gabriel your phone number.”
“Oh, please,” Ivy says brushing it off, “Gabe is child’s play. I have him handled.”
She always thinks she has him handled. And while I’ll agree Ivy can take care of herself, Gabriel Dane has never been good for her.
Ava doesn’t look convinced either.
If anything, she looks worried.
“I think you both should avoid all of the Inferno guys at this point. They don’t play fair.”
“Says the girl dating Mason. And tell me a time when they ever played fair,” Ivy counters.
“Yeah, but it’s different now.”
Ava sighs, guilt rolling behind her brown eyes when she looks at me.
“Mason told me something a few years ago that you should probably know. I didn’t think it mattered because you weren’t around Damon and Ezra anymore, so I didn’t say anything. But if you really are starting something with them again, you should know the full story.”
That doesn’t sound good. I lift my brows waiting for her to continue.
She sighs again and runs her fingers through the length of her blond hair.
“I mean, it was high school, so I doubt it really matters anymore, but when the twins first started messing with you...”
She pauses, obviously not wanting to spit it out.
“They did it because Mason bet them they couldn’t get you in bed. He said you were frigid and boring, so the whole thing-“
Her voice trails off again, but that’s fine. It’s not like I can hear her over the shattering of my heart or the rush of fury in my head.
“I take it the twins won the bet?”
I don’t mean for the snap in my voice that makes her wince. It’s not Ava’s fault.
Voice softer, she meets my eyes when she says, “I think we all know how that turned out. Those two cared about you. I just worry that they’re still mad about you leaving them and are playing games again.”
Taking a few minutes to gather my thoughts, I understand why Ava told me about the bet, but I don’t believe the twins are playing games. Not with the pain I saw in Damon’s eyes or the cold rage I saw in Ezra’s.
Their hearts are still very much involved, but that doesn’t mean I’m happy to hear about how all of this started.
To be honest, it only pisses me off at Mason. Maybe that’s why he always looked at me with hatred behind his eyes when he saw me with them. Maybe he lost a lot of money.
“How much was I worth?” I ask.
Ava’s face pales. “It doesn’t matter.”
“How much?”
She takes a sip from her iced latte before answering, “Five bucks.”