I smile at her and slap her ass as she turns around to leave. She lets out a small yelp and grabs her ass in surprise. I might have gotten a bit carried away and slapped it harder than planned. My bad.

“Ouch! That hurt.” She punches my arm. “Jerk. Take your aggression out on someone else.”

I back away and wink at her. “Just be glad it wasn’t during sex. That hurts a lot worse. Trust me.” I bite my bottom lip, as her face turns red. “Later, Firecracker.” I tease.

She says nothing more before disappearing out the door, leaving me alone in my thoughts. Hearing Ace hit on her on the way out almost tests me, but I keep my shit together.

Control. It’s all about control . . .

AFTER WORK I WENT BACK to the house, said goodbye to Memphis, and packed most of my shit into the back of my truck. It only took me about three hours to get everything moved and unpacked. By the time I was done, Tripp was standing in my doorway with a huge grin on her face, obviously glad that I kept my word.

“Someone looks awfully happy,” I say while plopping down on my bed with my hands laced behind my head.

She runs across the room and jumps on the bed next to me, rolling on her side to face me, and propping herself up on her arm to look down at me. “Of course I am.” She lays her head on my chest and throws her leg over my waist, tucking herself against my body. “My boy is finally here. I pretty much haven’t seen you in five days. You know that is unacceptable. I’ve missed the shit out of you.”

I close my eyes, feeling guilty for not at least stopping by to see her. I guess I have to admit that I’ve been a bit pissed off about her and Lucas being in the same house together. I just don’t like the idea of her being around him every day. It feels too much like us.

“Well I’m here now.” I sigh. “I won’t let it happen again.” I run my hand through the back of her hair and lightly tug on it. “Come here,” I whisper.

She looks up at me before scooting up higher so that her face is tucked into my neck. Damn, she smells so good. “You promise me,” she asks against my skin.

I grab her leg and pull her over me, positioning her so that she’s partially lying between my legs, the rest of her body on top of me. Then I kiss her hair and tangle my fingers in it. We’ve been doing this since I was twelve. “Yeah. I just had to deal with a few things alone. You know I’m always here. If you would have asked me to come see you, you know there is no way in hell I could have said no.”

“I know,” she simply says. “I guess I just wanted you to come on your own.”

I smile against her hair before grabbing her underneath her ass and pulling her up to straddle me. I rest my hands on the front of her thighs. “I come alone sometimes. A lot, actually.” I laugh as she punches me and pushes down on my chest. She really doesn’t realize that the way she’s moving her body right now is about to give her a huge surprise if she doesn’t hold still. “Would it be bad if I admitted I get hard when you punch me? I like it rough. Keep it up.”

Her face turns red before she punches me a few more times. “Is that what I feel?”

She crawls off of me and rolls over on her back beside me on the mattress. “You really are a guy. I guess I should have found a girl for a best friend. Things would be a lot different.”

I sit up and look at her while rolling my sleeves up to my elbows. “You have no idea.”

She swallows, before breaking eye contact and standing, then walking toward the door. “So . . . you should get ready for the party tonight. I’m sure Mel will be showing up soon.”

Having Mel here is the last thing I am even thinking about at the moment, but I guess having her around will keep me distracted from worrying about Tripp and Lucas and what kind of shit they’ll be up to tonight. “Yeah. I’ll be down in a bit. I’m going to relax and then take a quick shower. I’ve been up since five so I need to prep my brain for party mode.”

Her eyes land on my guitar and she gives me a look, telling me she wants to hear me play it tonight. Then she backs out of my room and shuts the door behind her, leaving me alone in my thoughts.

I lay here for about an hour, lost in thought, before finally hopping in the shower and relieving myself. If it’s a fucked up thing to stroke your cock to thoughts of your best friend, then I guess I’m extremely fucked up, but I have found this is the only way to be around her like I am on a near constant basis.

Standing under the warm water I stroke myself, slow and hard, to thoughts of me fucking Tripp so hard that she wouldn’t be able to walk for weeks. Fuck me. The things I would do to her if I had a chance . . .

Gripping the shower wall, I stroke my cock a few more times, letting myself imagine that my hand is her pussy, before letting my cum wash down the drain, along with any ideas that being with Tripp would be okay. That shit will never happen without messing everything up.

I look down at my dick, while catching my breath and letting my orgasm wash through me as I slap the wall. Damn, that was a lot of cum. At least my dick won’t be standing tall all fucking night now.

I guess we’ll just see how the night plays out. Hell, maybe if I’m lucky I’ll switch up Mel for Tripp. As shitty as that sounds, I want that so bad. The thought of her thighs squeezing me tight as I bury myself inside her has me getting hard again. I need to play it cool though. I have to. If I don’t it could fuck up everything.

I’M IN MY ROOM GETTING ready when I hear the shower turn on. The party starts in about fifteen minutes so Alex must be getting ready too.

Just out of curiosity, I walk over to the bathroom door and turn the handle. It moves, but I don’t push it open. It’s unlocked. That thought excites me, making me realize that he didn’t care enough to lock it, and knowing that I could walk in at any time and see him naked elevates my core temp a little. I just find that to be so damn hot.

That’s an open invitation . . . right?

I release the handle and suck in a small breath when I hear him moan out, followed by what sounds like his hand slapping against the shower wall.

Oh. My. God. That is the sexiest sound I have ever heard. That low, deep growl is all it takes to get me wet.

Collecting myself, I back away from the door and take a deep breath. My legs feel shaky. “Don’t do this right now, Tripp. Dammit, don’t do this.” Shaking it off, I go back to stand in front of the mirror one last time, questioning the way I look in my newest little dress.