I open my mouth to protest, but Jackson stops at our table. “Holly? How are you?”

Holly stares up at him and smiles. “Hi, Jackson. I’m fine.”

His eyes drift down her body and linger awhile on her tits beneath her white tank-top. “You look great.”

What he means to say is that her tits look great—which they do—but after the way he treated her she shouldn’t give him the satisfaction of looking at them. She should tell him to piss off, but she doesn’t. She actually bats her eyes at him and as she tells him he looks good too.

I don’t fucking get chicks. At. All.

This asshole did her wrong. Why is she being nice to him? One minute she hates him, and the next he has her under some sort of fucked up spell that’s turned the baddest chick I know into, well…she’s acting just like the shallow groupies who try to get my attention. Why would she even want him back after what he did?

This isn’t good. Doesn’t she know with this groupie act she’ll be just another easy mark for him? He’ll have the same thing on his mind that I normally do when it comes to women—fuck ‘em and dump ‘em—and Holly is too good for that. She’s not some random bimbo out for a good time. I’ve been around her long enough today to know she’s loyal and fierce, and deserves so much more.

I’m going to make sure that happens.

I reach across the table and intertwine my fingers with hers. “Who’s this, baby?”

 Holly attempts to pull away, but I squeeze my fingers together, holding her in place. The little touch works. Jackson’s brown eyes zero in on it, and I smirk at Holly.

It takes her a couple seconds to realize that I’m helping her out and she smiles at me. “This is my friend, Jackson.”

I let go of her hand and stand up from the booth and extend my hand. “What’s up, man. I’m Trip.”

Jackson sizes me up, glancing down at my biceps before allowing a smirk to fill his face. He’s confident, and thinks he’s better than even me. If he’s not careful, I’ll wipe that smart-ass grin off his face for him. “I thought I knew all of Holly’s friends?”

I continue shaking his hand, squeezing a little tighter. “I’ve known her for a little while now—she’s really something.” I look down at her and wink.

Jackson lets go of my hand, and flexes his fingers. This time it’s my turn to wear a shit-eating grin.

He turns to Holly. “I know we aren’t on the best terms right now, but I’d love to stop out at the track. Would that be okay?”

Her face lights up. “Of course! We’d love to have you there.”

“Great. It’s a date. I’ll be there tomorrow,” Jackson answers with a grin before he turns back to me. “Nice to meet you, Trip. I’m sure I’ll see you around.”

I nod. “You can count on it.”

I take my seat and shake my head as Holly watches Jackson walk out the door. “What do you see in him?”

She turns back to me. “I don’t see anything in him.”

I roll my eyes. “Give me a break. If I hadn’t saved your ass, you would’ve been a pile of girl-goo all over the floor. If you want to make a guy like him jealous, you have to be a challenge. You can’t go around throwing yourself at him.”

“I wasn’t throwing myself at him.”

I point at the table. “Yeah, you were. Trust me. I know what I’m talking about. You want this guy to notice you and kick himself for letting you go, you’re going to need my help. You have to make him come crawling back. He needs to suffer for doing you wrong, so he’ll know not to ever do it again.”

She crosses her arms. “Why would you even offer that? I’ve been a royal bitch to you for the most part. What’s in it for you?”

I shrug. “I want my time here to go as smoothly as possible. I’d like us to be friends as well as co-workers. I feel like shit for how I treated you at the club and I’m hoping this will get me on your good side. Your friendship will make my job fun. This little pact will provide my entertainment while I’m here and you’ll be getting something in return. I’d say that’s a win-win.”

She toys with a strand of her blonde hair. “So, you’re saying if we form this un-holy alliance, the only thing I have to do is be nice to you? There’s nothing else you want in return from me?”

I shake my head. “Nothing else. I promise. I only want your friendship and the chance to help you make a cheater pay. I have no love for cheaters. I know first hand how many fucking problems cheating in a relationship can cause.”

Holly narrows her blue eyes. “You’ll behave?”

“Yes. I promise I’ll keep my dick in my pants when it comes to you. I’m starting to like you too much to fuck you, anyhow.” I tell her the honest truth, because I know now she’s the relationship type, and that’s not what I’m here for. I don’t want to pretend like I’d be into one with her because I won’t allow myself to play her just to have sex. I won’t be able to toss her aside like I do the rest. I already like her to much to do that.

“That makes no sense. You like me too much now to sleep with me? That’s just an odd thing to say, but whatever. The deal seems pretty simple, and I would love to give Jackson a taste of his own medicine and make his ass jealous. It’d be nice to prove to him I can find someone else too.”

“The way I see it, Holly, if my buddy goes into business with your dad, we’ll see a lot of each other. I would like us to be on good terms. I’ll probably be around from time to time after my month here is over and I’d like to walk into your office and have you greet me with a smile instead of a scowl. You’re far to pretty to have an ugly expression on that beautiful face.”

She bites her bottom lip. “I completely get what you’re saying. I don’t want a bad relationship with you either. I think teaming up with you could be fun, but no more flirting with me.”

I shake my head. “Jackson believes we’re together, so we’re going to have to play the part. There will be flirting—lots of it. It’s the only way this will be believable.”

She leans back in the booth and chews her thumbnail while she weighs up her options.

“Clock’s ticking,” I say. “You better make up your mind. He’s coming to see you tomorrow. You can either allow me to fondle you in front of Jackson, making him insanely jealous, or you can go back to hating my guts. The choice is yours.”

Her eyes soften. “I never said I hated you.”

“Actions speak louder than words, sweetness. You haven’t had many kind things to say to me today.” I extend my hand across the table to her. “What do you say? Do we have a deal?”

She leans forward and places her hand in mine. “Deal. And I promise I’ll start being nicer.”

Looks like my time here just got a hell of a lot more enjoyable. I smile and give her hand a shake. This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

I Wanna Be Bad

HOLLY

What the hell did I agree to? That’s the only thought that keeps flitting through my mind as I stare straight ahead on our car ride back to the house. This little game is dangerous. Trip is dangerous. I know that. Every sense in my body screams it. It’s worrisome that I’ve agree to act like Trip and I are an item, considering I know that I’m attracted to him physically, but what he was offering was too sweet of a deal to turn down. Jackson needs to see that I can move on and that my life doesn’t revolve around him. I can’t let him know he nearly broke me.

When I was seventeen, Jackson Cruze was my everything. Even now, it’s a hard to pretend I don’t feel something for him. I’ve drooled over him since I was old enough to like boys in the first place. The moment he came to my father’s track and flashed his dimples at me I was a goner. Jackson was my first real crush, my first boyfriend, and the first guy I ever fell in love with—that all means something to me. What he did to me doesn’t instantly erase all that, although I wish it would. As much as I hate it, I want him back.