Filthy English

“Anything else you want to tell me about her?”

I exhaled. “Her dad died a few years ago. She—she knows what it’s like to lose someone. I told her about Mum—and the dragonfly. She got it.”

“Hmmm.”

“We got fake-married.”

Declan sputtered. “Not sure what that means, but you have my full attention. Care to explain?”

“No.” I stood and paced around the room, checking the window at the front to see if they’d left yet. They had. But she’d be back. Soon. I checked my phone. In about three hours. Great. I rubbed at the half-beard on my jaw. I needed a goddamn shower, and I hadn’t shaved since London.

“You’ve fucked her before, haven’t you?” Declan’s voice came from behind me.

I sighed, still staring out the window. “Yep.”

“And London?”

I turned to face him. “I didn’t fuck her in London—wasn’t like that. She fucked me.”

Surprise crossed his face, then a slow understanding. “And now she’s with him?”

I exhaled. “They were on a break.”

He sighed, his gaze evaluating me. “Ah, dude. I bet there’s a story there. Do you want to talk about it?”

I grimaced, shoving that shit way down. “No. I want to forget it ever happened.”

He stood up from the couch and patted me on the back. “Yeah, bro, I think we’re gonna need some more beer.”

At six, Axel came over with a bottle of Patrón, several pizzas, and a couple of the fraternity little sisters. Even though classes didn’t start until Monday, sorority rush had been going on and, as usual, several of the girls had been hanging around the Tau house.

I’d dropped by a few times to check in on how rush was going, but since I wasn’t president this time around I didn’t have any pressing duties. I’d walked through the entire house, feeling a little detached. It was odd. I mean, I’d spent four years living and partying at that house. With my charm and penchant for a good time, I’d brought the girls and pledges in by the droves. I liked everyone, and ninety-nine percent of the time, it meant nothing, just a way to pass the time. I may have sucked at my GPA, but my friend list was extensive.

Yet . . .

Something in my gut said I’d moved on from the Tau shenanigans over the summer while helping Spider, or maybe it had begun sooner. After Declan met Elizabeth, I’d witnessed firsthand what they had—love and unicorns and rainbow crap.

Part of me longed for that too. My forever girl.

Axel, the two girls, Declan, Elizabeth, and I finished eating pizza as the doorbell rang. I glanced at the clock. Seven on the dot. Of course–Remi was punctual as shit.

Declan arched a brow at me. “She’s here.”

“This is going to be interesting you living with a girl,” Elizabeth murmured. “Want me to get it?”

“I got it.” I wiped my mouth with a napkin and stood, taking my beer with me. Time to deal with reality.

When I opened the door, Remi and Hartford stood there with several boxes at their feet. The sun had already set and it was nearly dark, but I saw they’d come in a Toyota truck filled with furniture. Hartford’s silver Lexus SUV was parked behind it with several boxes inside.

“Hey,” she said, following my eyes. “I borrowed Lulu’s truck.”

“And she would be the only girl I know who drives one,” I said, forcing a smile.

Her lips twitched. “Yeah, she’s a country girl underneath all that craziness.”

I nodded. Okay. See, we could be civil. I sucked in a breath and willed myself to relax. Best way to do that was to not look at her, so I directed my attention to Hartford. “Let me grab Axel and Declan and we’ll help you out.”

“You don’t have to,” she said.

“I want to.”

She paused. Looked at the ground then back at me. “Okay.”

Hartford’s brow wrinkled as his eyes went from me to her.

After calling for Axel and Declan, we went out to the truck with Hartford and carried in her iron bed, nightstand, dresser, and boxes of clothes. Even with going up the stairs, it only took an hour to get things situated where she could start unpacking.

Hartford went down to grab the last box from the truck while Axel and Declan put her bed together. I carted the box labeled Bath and put it on the floor in her loo. I riffled through it. Curious. I pulled out some hair thingies, a round brush, a small bag of make-up, and generic shampoo. Compared to my extensive list of styling products, hers was seriously low maintenance. I opened her deodorant and sniffed, looking for her scent. Nope. Rummaging to the bottom, I pulled out a small bottle of perfume, but it didn’t smell like her either. Dammit. I was jonesing.

The door opened. I flipped around, tossing the bottle back in the box.

“What are you doing?” Remi asked.

“Nothing. Helping.”

“By sniffing my perfume?”

“No, that’s stupid,” I snapped.

“You were going through my things.” She shut the door and leaned against it, and it was the first time I’d looked at her in the light since she’d arrived. Her eyes looked red.

I scowled. “Have you been crying?”

A pause. “No. I’m just tired.”

I didn’t care. I put my shoulder against the wall, letting my gaze move over her and eat her up.

“You never came back to the hotel,” she said quietly.