Replace Me (Kin #2)(16)
Author: Jennifer Foor

Even his bedroom, that I never expected to walk in, was decorated in the same colors. There weren’t any clothes laying on the floor and his bed was made. Of course, maybe it was because he was expecting company, but Sky had commented about it before, too.

Joey sat down next to me and wiped another set of tears off of my cheeks. “Do you want my opinion?”

I sniffled. “Not really.”

“Fair enough.”

He handed me a bottle of beer and pointed to a coaster. I took a sip and sat it down. “Thanks for saving me.”

“Which time?”

“Don’t be a dick, Joey. I can’t take anymore sarcasm tonight.”

Joey picked up his phone, looked at the time, and sat it back down. “Listen, I have somewhere I need to be. I think everyone’s gone, but you’re welcome to stay here. I won’t be back until later.”

I don’t know what made me ask, but the words blurted out of my mouth. “Are you coming home alone?”

A smiled formed in the crease of his lips. “Why do you want to know?”

I shrugged. “I…I don’t want to mess up your opportunity to get laid.”

He laughed at me. “You could always wait for me in my bed, but that’s up to you, of course.”

When he got up, started walking in the bedroom, and pulled off his shirt, I couldn’t help but stare at him. Joey had a tattoo of a dragon on his back. It looked sexy as hell and for just a second, I wasn’t thinking about my broken heart. He turned and looked at me. I pretended to be offended that he was shirtless. “No thanks. I’ll probably just go back upstairs, once I know Sky and Ford are in bed.”

He tapped on the door. “My door is always open if you change your mind.”

When he walked into the bathroom and shut the door, I covered my face and let the real tears pour out. His mind games were not what I needed. I wanted the empty feeling in the pit of my stomach to go away.

A few minutes later, he came out wearing only a towel. Our eyes met and he smiled before going into his bedroom and shutting the door behind him. I wasn’t used to Joey being so nice. In all of the times that we’d been around each other, he’d only tried to get me in his bed. This new side of him scared me, because I found myself becoming curious. Curiosity meant that I was interested and I couldn’t want someone like Joey. He had nothing to offer me but the same fate I was under at the moment.

I was so sick of meaningless relationships and longed to have something real, except I always fell for the wrong guys.

He came out smelling fantastic and looking even better than earlier. I tried to hide the attraction that I felt toward him, albeit I’m certain he could see me blushing. “So, I’ll be back later. Like I said before, you’re welcome to stay. I’ve got ways to take your mind off of him, you know.”

I shook my head. “I’ll be gone when you get back. Don’t worry, I will lock up.”

“Suit yourself, Lace.” He leaned over and kissed me on the top of the head. “I bet you’re awesome to wake up next to.”

“Too bad you won’t ever find out,” I said as he walked out the door.

I waited until I heard him pull out to get up and head back to Sky’s. The one thing I hadn’t considered was that they’d already be in bed, with the doors locked. Because of the fight, I’d left without grabbing any of my things, including my keys. I couldn’t get into their house to get my phone or anything else. I knocked twice on the door, but knew they couldn’t hear me from their room, especially if they had the television on. Knowing that I was stuck, I went out to the back porch and sat in the dark.

I have no idea how long I’d been outside, or when exactly that I’d fallen asleep, but I felt someone picking me up. I recognized the smell of his cologne and knew it was Joey. From crying, I was too tired to fight him. I was cold and had to use the bathroom. He led me inside of the house, but carried me to his bedroom. When he sat me down, I sat up quickly. “I’m not sleeping in here with you.”

Joey kicked off his shoes and closed his closet door. “I’ll sleep on the couch.” He grabbed a pillow and walked out of the room.

“What about the spare bedroom?”

“The mattress sucks. I prefer the couch.”

Since I had to use the bathroom, I walked out into the hallway and saw him trying to get comfortable . He didn’t have a blanket and his legs hung off the arm of the couch.

When I came back out, he was flipping through the television channels. “Can I borrow a t-shirt?”

He stood up and walked into the bedroom. “First my bed and now my clothes. For someone that won’t get naked with me, you sure do expect a lot,” he joked.

“I got locked out. Don’t worry, though. I won’t make this a habit.”

“I don’t mind.” He handed me a shirt and a pair of boxers. “Is this good?”

I smiled. “Thanks for bringing me inside. How did you know I was out back?”

“Ford text me and asked if you were staying with me. When I got back and you weren’t here, I text him. He said you weren’t there either, so I checked out back. I figured you’d locked yourself out of both places, bein’ as you were so upset earlier.”

“You’ve been a good fake boyfriend today. Thanks for that.”

He stood there, looking right at me, smiling. “How about I keep up the lie and sleep in here with you?”

I crossed my arms. “I’m not sleeping with you, Joey.”

“I didn’t want to sleep.”

I tossed another pillow at him. “Stop!”

He walked out of the room again, leaving me alone. I climbed in under the covers and got comfortable, but I couldn’t stop thinking about him being out on the couch. He’d been so nice to me, and jokes aside, we were both adults. It wasn’t like he was going to force me to do anything. Besides, I didn’t want to be alone, because I couldn’t stop thinking about losing Shayne.

I yelled his name. “JOEY.”

He came running in the room. “What’s wrong?”

I patted the side of the bed next to me. “If you promise not to try anything, we can share.”

“So glad you get to make the rules in my apartment.” He climbed in beside me and tried to get comfortable. I rolled to face the opposite direction and tried to close my eyes.

Just as I was falling asleep I felt his hand wrapping around me and pulling me close. He brought his lips down to the back of my shoulders and kissed me tenderly. “Goodnight Lace.”