She smiled coyly at him, and he threw her dress at her. The brazen blonde from earlier today frowned at him. Nikoli was not in the mood to deal with her. He’d worked his frustration out with her, yeah, and the sex had been good, but not great. She just needed to get dressed, and then get the hell out.
He threw the used condom in the trash and started the shower. He could hear Luther in the other room explaining to her she needed to leave. She was a clinger. How had he missed that? Luther would take care of it, though. He always did. Nikoli sometimes felt bad about putting him in that position, but not enough to keep from doing it again. Luther knew him, accepted him for the asshole he was, and never judged him. They were like brothers. He loved him as much as he did his own brothers. Luther knew that too. It was why he put up with so much shit from Nikoli.
“Nik, get your pearly ass out here!” Luther called through the door. “I got a line on a ’69 Mach 1, fully modded.”
Those last two words almost caused Nikoli to slip as he got out of the shower. Luther and his dad had introduced Nikoli to cars, and his very own love affair had been born. Luther and he both did rally and off-road racing. Luther’s dad frowned on it, but didn’t say much else. That old man had bailed them out of more than one scrape because of racing. If Nikoli’s father had known some of the shit the two of them got into on the racing scene, he’d personally drag Nik’s ass back to Russia and put him under lock and key. Those boys in the Miami scene were heavy hitters and pulled no punches. You either survived or you didn’t, and Nikoli loved it.
They’d been looking for an old American muscle car that already had the modifications they needed for the upcoming race in Miami, or one that could be modded. The race they wanted to enter had a few hitches, and not having to worry about getting the car’s electronics knocked out was the key. They’d entered the race last year, only to die three hundred yards from the finish line from a tech bomb attached to the car. Nikoli had bashed a few heads, but couldn’t do much else.
“We could still overhaul your Fiat,” Luther offered as Nikoli exited the bathroom. “It’s smaller and lighter.”
Nikoli shook his head. “No, we don’t want any repeats of last year. What’s the payout this year, you heard?”
“Four hundred grand, last count. Entry fee went up to twenty thousand.”
Nikoli nodded. “That’ll bankroll the new programmers.” He and Luther had started their own business at the age of seventeen. They’d both been huge gamers and took that love to a new level. They’d designed and programmed a shooter game that eventually blew up once it was released. They hadn’t wanted to sell the game, so they’d tried to figure out how to manufacture, promote, and distribute it themselves. Getting a bank loan just wasn’t possible for the two of them at seventeen. So they found an alternate route—fast cars and underground races.
Luther found the first race thanks to a buddy he played Call of Duty with online. The entry fee had been harsh, three thousand dollars. They bankrupted their savings and begged and borrowed from everyone they knew. Luther’s dad donated a thousand, as had Nikoli’s uncle. They’d driven down to Miami and won that first race, and came away thirty thousand dollars richer.
All they’d told Luther’s dad and Nikoli’s uncle was the money came from an investor who believed in the game. After that, Nikoli’s uncle had gotten them in touch with the right people, and their game had gone into production. They’d hired a business manager and a marketing manager who’d made deals with all the major players in the world of video games. A year later, that thirty thousand dollars turned into three million. After that, it’d just been an upward climb. The two of them owed no money to anyone and were able to bankroll any new projects by winning races. Eventually, they’d give it up, but not for a while yet. Luther loved working on the cars, and Nikoli loved racing them. Perfect relationship.
“Show me the car.” Nikoli grabbed a beer out of the fridge and sat down on the bar stool next to where Luther was engrossed in the computer.
“Dude’s selling it on eBay,” Luther said with a laugh. “Stupid.”
Nikoli let out a low whistle when the car’s specs came up. Stupid wasn’t the word—fucked up insane better described the ass selling it. The original 351 motor had been replaced with a 428 bored out big block. Custom three-inch dual exhausts with Flowmaster mufflers, Offenhauser Port O Sonic intake manifold, Barry Grant 1000 CFM Silver Claw carburetor, and the list just went on and on. This car was still street legal, but it had the heart and soul of a racer under the hood. They would have to do very little to it.
“Email the seller. Offer him twice what he wants for it, and we’ll pick it up tomorrow, cash in hand,” Nikoli said, his eyes gleaming as he finished reading all the specs. “He’s a first class dumbass. There’s no way he built this car just to sell it for not even a tenth of what it’s worth.”
Luther snorted before checking his phone. His brow furrowed, and then he looked at Nikoli, perplexed. “What the hell? Is it true?”
“Is what true?” Nikoli asked, not really paying attention. He was still too focused on the car. The deep burgundy color set off the chrome nearly as well as black could.
“Did you ask Lily Holmes on a date?”
Nikoli’s head snapped around. How the hell did Luther know? “Who told you that?”
“Mac just texted asking if it’s true.”
“It’s not a date.”
“So you didn’t ask her to dinner?” Luther frowned at him, then looked back down to his phone.
“Well, yeah, I did, but…”
“Then it is a date,” Luther crowed, and then burst out laughing. “Oh, God, I never thought I’d see the day when Nikoli Kincaid had to resort to asking a girl out on a real live date.”
“Do you want a beating?” Nikoli growled. How in holy hell did the fact he asked Lily to dinner get out? “Tell Mac to shut his mouth or I’ll shut it for him.”
Luther wheezed he was laughing so hard, and all it managed to do was piss Nikoli off even more. He swung, and his fist collided with Luther’s face. He went down, cussing a blue streak. “What the hell, man?”
“This is not funny,” he bit out. “I can’t handle her like I do everyone else. She isn’t falling for it. If I have to take her to dinner to get her naked, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“Whatever you say.” Luther laughed. “I told you to leave her alone. If you don’t listen, then I am going to enjoy every minute of your domestication.”
“That just ain’t right, man.” Nikoli glared down at his friend before extending a hand. “Nikoli Kincaid doesn’t do domestication. Never have, never will.”
“Whatever you say.” Luther chuckled and sat back down at the computer. “Whatever you say.”
Nikoli gave Luther one last glare and stomped out of the room. No way in hell would he ever be domesticated.
***
“You did what?”
Lily winced and held the phone away from her ear. How did Adam find out she’d agreed to go out with Nikoli? Less than two hours had gone by, and he was shouting from her phone.
“It’s not a big deal,” she murmured while she unpacked the groceries she’d bought at the market. Cereal, milk, pop, and some snacks had her set. Her little mini fridge was overflowing with cans of Coke and bottles of water.
“Not that big a deal?” She could hear the frustration in his voice. “Lily, this is Nikoli Kincaid we’re talking about. Do you even know who he is?”
“Yes, Adam, I know very well who he is, as I already told you,” she said. “I’m not stupid.”
“Right now I’m not so sure about that,” he snapped.
She pulled the phone away and glared at it, imagining Adam’s head. How dare he? “Did you call just to insult me?” she demanded. “Because if you did…”
“Lils, I’m just worried about you.” Adam sighed. “I know Kincaid. He’s a douche with only one thing on his mind.”
“I’m perfectly aware of that.” He had no right to call her and start trying to dictate what she could and couldn’t do. He was her best friend, but she was not his sister or his girlfriend. It was about time he figured that out. It’s not like he had time for her anymore either. She’d agreed to go out with Nikoli more because she was mad at Adam than anything else. He’d blown her off one too many times for Sue, and today’s latest ditching session had grated more than she’d realized.
“Then why the hell did you agree to go out with him?” Adam exploded.
“Because I wanted to.” She could hear the irritation in her own voice, but she didn’t care.
“Lily, there are things you don’t know,” Adam stressed, “rumors about the kind of stuff he’s into…”
“Adam, I am not having this conversation with you,” she interrupted him.
“Well, you obviously need to have it with someone!” He paused to speak to someone in the background, and Lily heard him mumble Sue’s name. She groaned inwardly. He was talking about this with her there? Lily’s face flamed up, and she felt mortified.
“Look, I gotta go,” she said. “People are lining up outside, and I have to give them the speech.”
“Lily, this conversation isn’t over,” he warned. “You are way out of his league…”
“I’m not good enough for him?” she shouted into the phone. “And why exactly is that, Adam? Am I not as pretty as some of his girls? Am I too boring? Too lame? What? Explain it to me.” Her voice had gone softer with each word.
Complete silence greeted her. He knew exactly how pissed she was in that moment.
“I’m waiting, Adam.”
She heard him take a deep breath. “That’s not what I meant, Lily.”
“No?” she asked softly. “I hate to break this to you, Adam, but just because you don’t see me, doesn’t mean other people don’t. Now if you’ll excuse me, I don’t have time to listen to you piss and moan about something that is none of your damn business!”
She ended the call and threw the phone on her bed. Honest to God, he confused her sometimes. Like just then, he got all jealous and territorial, but other times, it was like she wasn’t even there. It could be the big brother complex he had, but that tiny spark of hope inside of her jumped up and down. Maybe he was jealous. In the end, it didn’t matter, though. He’d never seen what had always been in front of him, and he never would.
She had to get over it. Adam and Sue were getting married, and she needed to accept it. Once she graduated, she could move to New York and forget all about her problems. If Adam wasn’t in her face twenty-four-seven, she might be able to mend her broken heart.
A loud knock on her door interrupted her silent frustration. One of her returning girls from last year stood in the doorway, twisting her hands. Something was up.
“Mandy, what’s wrong?” she asked, concerned.
“It’s Stephanie,” she said. “Something’s wrong. She’s in our room crying, and I can’t get her to tell me why.”
With a sigh, Lily closed her door and followed Mandy down the hall to the room she shared with Stephanie. They were sophomores this year, and Lily tended to look out for them. Both were young and had made a lot of bad judgment calls last year. She’d even had to bust them once for drinking in their rooms. God only knew what Steph had done now.
The girl in question was curled up on her bed, her old stuffed bear held tightly against her chest as she sobbed brokenly. Her blonde hair was matted to her head and her dress wrinkled.
“What’s wrong, honey?” she asked, sitting down next to the girl.
“Go away,” she cried. “I’m too ashamed to talk about it.”
Lily’s instincts went on alert. “Did someone do something to you, Stephanie?”
She hiccupped and nodded her head. “I was so stupid, Lily. I knew better, and I did it anyway, thinking it’d be different with me. That he couldn’t be as bad as everyone said he was.”
Lily’s gut clenched. She had a feeling she knew exactly what happened. “Tell me,” she said slowly.
“I was going to eat lunch and he caught me before I went in.” She sniffled. “I couldn’t help it, I wanted to say no, really I did, but ohmygod, he’s so hot.”
“Nikoli Kincaid?” Lily asked, resigned.
Stephanie nodded. “Yeah. After, he just threw my dress at me and left. His friend told me to leave and not bother leaving my phone number. I’m so stupid, Lily. Why did I think I could make him look at me any differently? I know his reputation.”
Lily sighed. She’d heard all this before. “Every girl thinks that, Steph. They all think they’ll be the one to finally catch and hold his attention for more than a couple hours.”
“It wasn’t even that long,” she said forlornly. “It was only an hour, and he didn’t even bother to say good-bye. He had his friend throw me out.”
“Just check it off your bucket list,” Lily told her. “You had sex with BU’s very own manwhore. Everyone else has, so why not you?”
That caused Stephanie to giggle. “He is hot, and the sex was really great.”
“See, it’s not the end of the world, is it? Now you know what all the hype was about, and you can go on and find a nice guy this semester to fall for, yeah?”
Stephanie smiled before lunging up to hug Lily, who went completely still, fighting the scream that rose in her throat. “You’re the best, Lily. I’m glad you’re our dorm mom!”
“Just promise me you two won’t have any more beer parties this year, please.” She gave Stephanie a strained smile and disentangled herself as fast as she could. She winced at the conspiratorial look Stephanie and Mandy gave each other. Dear God, they were going to give her white hairs before she was even twenty-two.
“We promise to try to behave as long as it doesn’t get in the way of our fun.” Mandy gave Lily a grin and pulled Stephanie to her feet. “Come on, Steph, you need to wash your face before we join everyone.”
Lily sighed and followed them out. They were good girls, just a little too mischievous for their own good. And they did ridiculously stupid things in the name of fun, like having sex with the slutty manwhore.
She and Nikoli had a lot of things to talk about, and if he had any thoughts of seducing her, they’d die as soon as she told him in no uncertain terms she’d never be a throwaway he forgot in less than five minutes. She refused to be the one on the bed crying because she let her guard down.
No way in hell was she sleeping with him. He just didn’t know it yet.