Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,122

bringing him, is she?” Vin asks.

“No,” I say.

“Maybe,” Zoe overrides my answer.

“Shit babe, hurry this up, we need to practice. That guy and his sports trivia knowledge used to beat us every time.”

I smile remembering when I used to win game night for that brief moment Dean was in my life.

“Um, Vin, you’re missing a few key elements there. I think you’re killing brain cells from playing with your tool so much,” Zoe quips.

“I know, I know. I’m supposed to put him on the cross and burn him, but I have some empathy for the guy. What happened couldn’t have been easy for him.”

“That didn’t mean he had the right to treat Chelsea the way he did,” Zoe fights my battle for me.

“Hey,” I try to interrupt.

“He was going through a hard time,” Vin argues.

“Seriously? You’re going to take his side?” Zoe’s playful tone has turned serious.

“Hey, Zo,” I interrupt again.

“There are no sides. They’re divorced,” Vin says. “Come on bud, out of the bath.”

“One more time,” Caiden says.

“No. Do not let him keep going under and holding his breath,” Zoe says using her mom voice.

Nothing good can come from this. Mark my words. Nothing.

“What’s the big deal? I’m right here,” Vin says.

“Hey, Zoe, I’m going to let you go,” I say, fiddling with the seam on my pajamas.

“No, no, Chels. Hold on a second.”

“Oookkkaaayy.” I sigh.

“See look, he’s still down there. Are his eyes open? They are. He’s challenging us.” Zoe is none too pleased.

“He’s playing,” Vin says with a chuckle. His voice seems to hold a little bit of pride.

“Playing my ass.”

Then I hear a big tumble, Caiden wailing, and their arguing voices.

“See, I told you,” Zoe snaps.

Click.

I hang up. I’m not going to make my Friday night worse by listening to two married people argue about their child.

Read. I can totally pick up a book. I rise from the couch once more and pull out my iPad, scanning through the new release charts for a book.

“No romance,” I murmur to myself, my finger scrolling down past all the covers with abs and couples hugging and almost kissing. “Fiction,” I sing-song, clicking on horror. I like horror.

I read a few blurbs and finally settle on one. After downloading it, I open the first page and start reading, trying to lose myself in a story about a killer of women. Single women that no one will miss. Huh.

I plop my iPad on the couch beside me and zero in on the glass doors under my television.

“Bad idea,” I say to myself, shaking my head hoping some sense will fall into it. My feet land on my warm rug. “The hell with it.”

My hand is poised on the handle of the glass door when my phone rings. I glance down, intending to ignore Zoe, but it’s my other cousin, her brother, Mikey. He’s always good for a laugh and a good time.

“Hey cuz.” I flop back down on the couch, hoping this call will improve my mood.

All I hear is loud music pumping and screaming in the background.

“Get dressed, I’m sending a car to you.”

“I’m in my pajamas. Why don’t you afterparty here? And bring some Mickey D’s with you.”

“Hell no. I got a 911 call from Zoe that entails getting you out of your pajamas, preferably into a dress, and out of your place. The car will be there in ten minutes.”

“Where are you?” I ask, already heading toward my bedroom.

“The driver knows where I am. The doorman has your name. Stop sulking because I’m gonna be really pissed if I have to leave this bar and the girl I’ve been warming up all night to come get your ass.”

He hangs up.

I pause in the doorway of my bedroom, my gaze moving to the glass doors once more.

“Yep, I’m not going to destroy it, so I might as well ignore it.”

I head into my bedroom to forget Dean and dance my ass off. The best way to get over someone is to get under someone else, right?

Chapter Eight

I fall into the booth, sweaty and exhausted and in desperate need of another drink.

“Are you working on your moves at home or something?” Mikey falls in right next to me, waving his hand to his friend who’s ventured to the bar instead of our booth. “Grab two.”

His friend nods. A friend who’s gotten handsy with me a few times on the dance floor, but he’s not bad looking. If I would just stop thinking about that DVD and Dean, I’d probably