He lifted a dark eyebrow. “My little brother probably knows a little bit about that.”

“Clever.”

“I try.”

“What happens at birthday dinner stays at birthday dinner, right Rome?”

“I’m not going to say anything. If he hasn’t noticed it after all this time it’s not my job to hit him over the head with it, but I do think there is a good chance the two of you might be really good for each other. Opposites attract and all that.”

The problem with that was I didn’t think Rule and I were really all that opposite, I mean yes he had ink from the top of his mohawked head to his booted toes, and he was all metal barbells where I was pearls and antique cameos but we were both people trying to live beyond the boundaries everyone else seemed to want to set for us. We both had deep, painful issues with our parents, we both loved the other Archer boys beyond measure, we both desperately wanted to be seen for the value we had without other people’s expectations of what we should or shouldn’t be doing and after Saturday I now knew we both wanted sex to be just a little bit rough and just a little bit dirty. Yeah not as opposite as one would think at first glance.

“I’ve been trying to keep Rule from living dark ever since Remy died, it’s only gotten worse, not better and I just can’t keep going down that path if there’s never going to be an end.”

Rome sighed as we got up and headed out into the chilly air. “At the end of the day little girl we’re all each other has, so no matter how tough it gets for any of us we just have to power through and keep it together.”

I gave him a hug and rubbed my cold hands together. I clutched the picture close to my chest and shivered as the bitter night breeze got past my scarf. “That’s easier for you to say because you’re an ocean away, most of the time it’s just me and Rule in an uneasy truce and your parents breathing down our necks and mine ignoring me.”

“You said it yourself Shaw, you’re not a kid anymore you can figure this out. I have faith in you.”

That was just Rome. He was the protector, the one that ultimately wanted what was best for all of us. I told him to call me before he headed back to Brookside and made my way back to the apartment. It was a rare day that Ayden and I both had off so she was sprawled in the living room with books everywhere. She was studying so intently with the radio up so loud I don’t think she heard me come in. She had been giving me crap all week about Rule. While she was all for me sewing wild oats and making decisions that made me happy, and believe me he had made me oh so very happy. She knew that my feelings for Rule were more complicated than I tended to let on and was convinced I was courting an even more thoroughly broken heart.

I tip toed up behind her and tapped her on the shoulder making her shriek and whirl around. The reaction was so dramatic it made me double over in laughter. I flopped on the couch with a groan and took off my coat and scarf. She scowled up at me as she reached over to turn down the radio. “Not cool. How was dinner?”

“Good.”

“Just good?”

“He grilled me about Rule; he seems to think we can fix each other or some nonsense like that.”

“Speaking of the troublemaker have you heard from him?”

I shook my head. “No. I know how he works, Ayd. Do you know how many sad, bewildered girls I‘ve seen him ditch the morning after? I refuse to be one of them.”

“Yeah but you guys know each other, you were kinda friends.”

I shrugged a shoulder. “That doesn’t matter to him. Women have always been interchangeable. It’s been that was since we were young.”

I ran a hand through my tangled hair and stifled a yawn. I had been studying extra hard because midterms were right around the corner and the extra weekend shift at work was starting to wear on me. Add in the fact I was waking up in the night all hot and bothered and I was tired girl.

“I think I might go curl up with a book and crash out early.”

“I’ll keep the music down.”

“No worries have a good night.”

“You too, and hey at least the hickey is starting to fade.”

I stuck my tongue out at her and went into my room. I flopped face first on the bed and swore under my breath when I heard my phone ringing from my purse normally I would have ignored it but it was playing Twisted Sister’s ‘We’re not gonna take it’ and I knew it was my mother and if I didn’t answer she would just keep calling back until I did. Her time was deemed just that valuable. I rolled over and dug it out.

“Hello mother.”

“Shaw, I’m sorry it took me so long to get back to you about your birthday. We were in California. Jack had a business trip and since it’s so cold here I thought the kids would like the beach.”

I guess phones didn’t work in California. “No problem.”

“I talked to your father, he said you seemed distracted and out of sorts. We discussed it and I really think whatever game you are playing with Gabe has to stop. You’re a mature young woman now Shaw, you need to start making smarter life decisions. Flitting from boy to boy just will not stand any longer.”

She didn’t even tell me happy birthday. “I’m not interested in Gabe, mom, not at all.”

“Interest is frivolous. He comes from a good family, he has a planned out future, those are things that a young woman of your linage need to look for in a partner.”

I blew a hiss out through my teeth and squeezed my eyes shut. “So those are the things that drew dad to Marissa? She comes from a good family? She had a secure future? Or maybe he just likes her big ole double-ds and the fact she does whatever he says. Come on mom you’re being ridiculous. I most certainly am not going to spend time with a guy that makes my skin crawl just because you like him.”

“Language young lady! I don’t know where you think all those smarts you have came from, but I’m neither foolish or blind, I know that this has to do with that Archer boy. It always does.”

I rubbed my forehead where I felt the beginning of a migraine starting, she brought them on faster than anything else. “So what if it does?”

“Oh Shaw, when are you going to outgrow this silly crush?”

“Mom I’m starting to get a headache can this wait until another time?”

She was silent for a long minute and I could feel the waves of censure over the phone.

“I’m going to invite the Davenports to dinner. You need to be there.”

“No. Not if Gabe is going to be there.”

“Yes, you will be there. Do not forget your father and I pay for your tuition.”

Great yet another parent that was extorting me, boy was I lucky. “Yeah, fine, whatever.” I didn’t even say bye I just chucked the phone under the other pillow and hit the lights. I had no idea how Rome thought I could fix anyone, be good for anyone, I didn’t even have control over my own life and it was making me physically ill.

***

I spent the rest of the week and weekend being a good college student. I studied every chance I got, finished my lab project, got a head start on one of my papers that was due at midterm and even managed to squeeze in some help for Ayden since she was struggling with I-Chem and I had breezed through it. I was working on a piece for one of my prerequisite classes, a speech on why assisted suicide should be legal, super fun stuff, but the apartment was too quiet and I was tired of ignoring my phone every time it rang fearing it would be one of my parents or Gabe so I packed my laptop up and went down to Pikes Perk to finish it. Ayden had texted that I should just come to the bar because it was slow, but I needed a less stimulating environment and a coffee shop full of hipsters seemed to be just the ticket. I had a pile of research in front of me and a caramel latte cooling by my elbow, I was so into what I was doing that I didn’t notice the chair across from me at the little table getting pulled back until the metal legs craped across the floor.

In fact I was so intent on the paperwork spread out before me it wasn’t until a familiar hand with the snake tattoo and his name across the knuckles pushed shut the top of my computer that I realized I had company. I blinked in surprise and looked up to find those arctic colored eyes watching me intently. He was still rocking the mohawk, only now it was a shocking red and he looked ridiculously good in a tight long sleeved t-shirt and jeans that were a little baggy. I didn’t bother to hide the fact that I was openly checking him out.

“What if I hadn’t saved any of that?”

“We’ve met, remember? I know you well enough to know you probably save after every sentence.”

It was every paragraph but whatever. “This is kind of out of the way for you, what are you doing here?” I hadn’t seen him or spoken to him in exactly ten days. The idea that he had purposely sought me out just seemed too farfetched to be believed so I scolded myself not to even begin to read into his sudden appearance.

“I actually went by the bar. I ran into your roommate and she said told me you were probably here working on homework, Shaw we need to talk.” I had never heard him sound so serious, it made me nervous. I needed something to do with my hands so I picked up my drink and tried to hide behind it.

“I don’t think we do.” I was halfway certain he was going to say something that was going to make me want to chuck the lukewarm coffee at his head.

He raised the eyebrow that had the double silver bars in and leaned forward so that he was resting his elbow on his knees and staring directly into my eyes. There were interesting shadows dancing and flashing in the silver depths of his that I didn’t know what to make of, but he had never looked more enticing than he did in that moment.

“Come on. You really think things can go down like they did and we just pretend like it never happened?”

“Why not? It’s what we’ve been doing and it seems to be working just fine.”

“Shaw,” he sounded exasperated. “We are not going to have seriously awesome sex that of which just happens to be your first time and not talk about it. First off I want to know what you were doing with Remy for all those years if you weren’t sleeping together, that just doesn’t make any sense. I also want to know why you took off the next morning, you didn’t even me a chance to try and talk to you.”

I set the coffee down and pushed some of my hair out of my face, I leaned towards him so that I was almost in the exact same position he was. We were so close I could see each of his eyelashes as they brushed against his cheek when he blinked.

“I told you guys until I was blue in the face that Remy and I were just friends. We never, ever had any kind of romantic relationship. Our friendship was deep, it was powerful and intimate in a way Neanderthal males fail to understand, but it was never physical and I can’t believe you thought I would stick around after just to have you rush me out the door the next morning. I’ve seen you in action more times than I care to admit Rule, I wasn’t going to be another one of your morning after headaches. I have more pride than that.”

“But you were going to hold onto your virginity for twenty years and then just give it up to me for no apparent reason?” He sounded slightly put out which made grin.