Flip (Next Level, #2)

by Briana Michaels

“Fine.” His defeated tone makes me whimper. With his head down, he leaves my house and says, “Lock the door behind me, please.” My heart collapses when the front door clicks shut.

“Wait!” I stop at the bottom of Erin’s porch steps and slowly turn around.

Erin never seems to do what she wants, only what everyone else wants. I’m not sure if she’s ever done something for herself. So I wait. And I wait. And I wait.

“I can’t believe you cleaned this all up.” Why not? I’m the one that made the damn mess.

And the fact that I’ve taken care of it shouldn’t have her voice quivering like it is.

You should leave. Cut your losses now, Trey.” What the ever-loving fuck is she talking about? “Cut my losses?”

Hold me back from what?” “From life!” She yells at me. “From success! From everything fun and great and right in your face!”

I don’t want to leave but staying seems to only make her more upset. I just want her happy. “Maybe I should go.”

I refuse to be another person in her life that hurts her.

isn’t what she sees. “I’m a single mom.” I know. “I’m still in my parent’s old house.” I know.

They could use some TLC. So what? “Are you done?” “No!”

“Look at me, Trey.” “I am.” My tone is cautious and stern. “I see you with crystal clarity.”

Same for the dinner table, going off the fact that there’s marker and paint and glue stuck to it because Beetle went through a big craft phase in kindergarten.”

“The carpet is stained all to hell because the patio door…” I point to it, “is right there. So Beetle just comes in and out all day long and drags dirt in all the time. Dirt,” I stress, “from the backyard you’ve made into a dynamite playground for him.”

“You’re a single mom doing an amazing job with her kid. Just like you were an orphan doing a great job raising her brother.”

“Paint is a pain in the ass to color match,” I continue even though it kills me to see her upset, “and I know you’re attached to this buttercup yellow.” She sucks in a breath and gawks at me like the knowledge surprises her.

“How did you—” I step into her space. “You said, at the graduation party you threw for Glitch, that this was your mom’s favorite color and also yours.” That was years ago.

“I’m not here to make it more difficult. I want to make it…”

“I just want to be part of it.”

Erin swipes her tears and sighs. “I lost my job.” Glitch told me already.

I just feel sad that her house is falling to pieces around her—including the hot water heater—and she’s not even able to express herself with her own home.

He looked right at me and Brendan as we were coming out of Target. I swear time froze and everything moved in slow motion. He looked me deadass in the face, then at our… my son… and kept walking like he didn’t see us at all.”

“I heard he’s married now, with three kids all under the age of five. I hope they piss in his bed every night.”

Once I’m sure she’s out for the count, I carry her upstairs and put her in bed. Then I crash on the couch

“I love you so fucking much.” He tenses next to me, and I shove a forkful of eggs into my face because I just made a big mistake admitting that.

Trey takes a sip of his coffee. “You still have the gift card I gave you for your birthday last year.” Oh. My. God. Glitch is a rat.

Now I feel awful because Trey doesn’t deserve my attitude. “It was a lovely gift.” I cringe, looking up at him. “I just haven’t had a chance to use it yet.”

Glitch tilts his head. “Once the services are scheduled, there’s a no cancelation policy that goes into effect. You’ll have to pay fifty percent of the bill if you cancel less than seventy-two hours out. Is that how you want to spend Trey’s birthday gift to you?”

They’re both ganging up on me. I’m not going to win this.

Trey didn’t come here to help with wedding preparations. He’s come to ruin my carefully constructed fortress and I don’t know what to do about it.

“You looked like you wanted to claw my face off down there.” I finish brushing and spit into the sink. “The thought crossed my mind.”

And I’m just trying to spoil a woman I love while I’m at it.”

“Get out.” “Erin.” “Get. OUT!”

So what if I said it by accident downstairs? That doesn’t mean he should say it back!

I have no clue what just happened, but it’s bad. Real bad.

“You want to tell me what the fuck that was about?” I swallow the lump in my throat. Shit, shit, shit. “Nope.”

“My sister’s a grown ass woman.” Yup. “And she’s acting like a child.” Pretty much. “And she only gets this bad when she doesn’t have complete control.”

“She needs someone who has the capacity to stop her from being Super Woman all the time.”

“Are you?” He growls in his deep voice. “Am I what?” “Are you the one who’s going to show her it’s okay?”

The realization slides up my spine, reinforcing my backbone. I stare at Glitch and nod. “Yeah, man. I am.”

His jaw tightens, along with his eyes. “How long?” Fuuuuck. “Listen, Glitch…” “How. Long.” “It’s… we’ve been…” Shit. I can’t do this. I can’t say I’ve been hooking up with his sister off and on for two years. “Two years.”

“I love her.” That blows him back.

“You hurt her, and I’ll kill you. Best friend or not, Trey, I’ll fucking end you.”

“She’s been through a lot.” “I know.” “Yeah… you do.” He squeezes my shoulder. “Which is why I’m going to trust you to do right by her… like I have since two years ago when I knew you’d hooked up after the Halloween party.”

“I drove by her house around two am and saw your car parked out front and the living room light on.”

“She gets happier when you’re around, you know.” Glitch bumps the side of the lawn mower with his boot. “She doesn’t think I notice… but I do.”

Glitch laughs shoots a chill down my back. “I hope you have what it takes to pry the reins from her hands, man. Because if you don’t, she’ll never recover from this.”

“I’m happy to have a sister too. Now how do we get a ring on your finger?” Her question freezes the air in my lungs. “Come on, Erin. You and Trey aren’t fooling anyone.”

“Glitch knows,” she says. “He confronted Trey already.” My heart lurches up my throat. “What?” “You guys have been hooking up for a couple years?” Oh. My. God.

“Girrrlll, I can’t believe you’ve gone this slow with a guy like that. Trey is…” Ara makes a chef’s kiss gesture and I’m reeling. “I’m shocked he’s still single, honestly.”