Just One More (Just Us Series Book 2) Read online

  Just One More

  MMFM Bisexual Romance

  Copyright © 2019 by Roxanne Riley

  All Rights Reserved.

  This book is a work of fiction and any portrayal of any person living or dead is completely coincidental and not intentional. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the author, other than brief excerpts for the purpose of reviews or promotion.

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  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Jessie

  Chapter Two

  Jessie

  Chapter Three

  Darren

  Chapter Four

  Jessie

  Chapter Five

  Jessie

  Chapter Six

  Ivan

  Chapter Seven

  Myles

  Chapter Eight

  Jessie

  Chapter Nine

  Ivan

  Chapter Ten

  Jessie

  Chapter Eleven

  Darren

  Chapter Twelve

  Jessie

  Epilogue

  Jessie

  Three months later

  Special Inside Look into Just This Once!

  Chapter One

  Jessie

  I don’t mind sleeping on my brother’s pull-out couch. Really, I don’t. It’s reasonably comfortable, and I know I shouldn’t complain, since a roof over my head at all is better than where I’d be otherwise. But I really, really wish he’d have sex with his girlfriends at one of their places.

  Not that I dislike either of them. I got over the weirdness of Gavin having two girlfriends -who also date each other- pretty quickly. Kate and Max are awesome, and I’ve become close with them over the last few weeks. But friends don’t necessarily want to hear their friends getting laid, especially by my brother.

  And especially when I’m not.

  I sigh and pull one of the pillows over my head to block out the sound and try not to think about it.

  I’m grateful. Or I should be, at least. If Gavin hadn’t bought my bus ticket to get me out here, I’d still be sleeping under a park bench.

  But I’ve been lying awake for hours, trying to fall asleep, and now with this addition, it becomes clear to me that there’s no way I’m going to be able to sleep through this. I sigh and shove the blankets off myself, getting to my feet. I need to go for a walk, get out of here.

  I duck into the bathroom with a pair of leggings and an oversized t-shirt to throw on, cringing when I walk close to his bedroom door and the sounds get louder. Blech.

  I change as quickly as possible, sliding my feet into a pair of sandals and slipping out the door quietly. Immediately, relief washes over me when I’m met with the chirping of crickets and the warm night air.

  Even if I was sleeping under a bench here, at least I’d be comfortable, I think to myself. Back in Seattle, I’d been freezing and soaked down to the skin. Here, everything’s always balmy and beautiful.

  Not that I ever sleep much anyway. I’ve had insomnia issues since I was a teenager, and sleep never comes easily, no matter what I do.

  I walk around the landscaped apartment complex, the sliver of a moon my only light, and let my thoughts wander. The truth is, I’m a little jealous of Gavin, and it’s getting harder and harder to push it down all the time. That goofy, puppy-love grin he wears all the time just makes me feel more alone.

  I settle myself under a tree uphill a little ways, where I can overlook a lot of the complex, and wishing I had brought out my sketch pad This late at night, most of the lights are dark, but one or two are still glowing. I wonder what’s keeping them awake. Maybe there’s others spending their nights like Gavin, or maybe just more insomniacs like me.

  I pluck a dandelion from beside me, gently twirling it between my fingers before I blow the seeds away, watching the tiny, fuzzy parachutes until they disappear into the darkness. I feel like I’ve been living like one of those little seeds, aimless and just drifting wherever the wind took me.

  But now I have a second chance, and I need to start making the most of it. I’d been job hunting, but I knew I needed to hit the pavement harder, really search for something that will let me get on my feet and regain a little independence.

  But I had to earn it back. I’d wasted the privilege for a long time. I’d fallen in with some bad people during my first semester of college, and when my life started to revolve around partying more than my grades, eventually I just stopped going to class. I’d gotten a job and a crappy studio apartment, but things steadily got worse.

  I dove deeper into the bottle, and started messing around with drugs, and because of it, lost my job. Unable to keep up with the rent and struggling to sober up, I lost even the crappy studio and wound up couch-surfing for a while. But nobody wants to babysit a train wreck for very long and soon I ran out of options.

  So in a battered thrift-store sleeping bag, I spent two weeks camping out in alleys, under park benches, or anywhere I could stay reasonably warm and dry for a night. Until finally, without a cent to my name, cold and alone, I swallowed my pride.

  I had begged everyone that passed by for an hour until one kind woman loaned me her cell phone so I could call Gavin, and he arranged for a bus ticket in my name to get me here. He promised me that as long as I was under his roof, I’d never go hungry or go without necessities, but anything else was on me.

  Basically, he told me as long as I made an effort to get my shit together, he’d help me get on my feet. But he warned me that if I started drinking or fucking with drugs again, he was done.

  The threat is definitely significant motivation, but he won’t have to follow through. I want to turn over a new leaf, to make my life better. All of that shit, and the person I was before are behind me, and I want to keep it that way.

  I do know it’s not going to happen overnight, but I know that it’s going to take serious effort on my part. I sigh and look up at the sky. The stars are mostly hidden behind clouds, but that little crescent moon manages to peek through.

  I know it should be the last thing on my mind right now, but I’m hoping that maybe this new leaf will bring new love on its heels, too. It seems like I’m surrounded in goopy, happy, fairy-tale love, but can’t find that for myself.

  My brother has been looking at engagement rings online, our friend Lacey just moved here with her two boyfriends, hell, even my favorite rock band just came out and proposed to the girlfriend they all share.

  Max and Kate had both cried, watching the live concert proposal, swooning about how romantic and sweet it was.

  “I don’t know, seems like kind of a dick move,” I’d said, my own bitterness showing itself, “What if she didn’t want to say yes? She’s up there on stage with all those people, all that pressure? If she said no, she’d look like a monster and all their fans would hate her. Seems unfair to her.”

  “I’m sure they wouldn’t have done it if they thought it was too much for her,” Kate had argued, “And she didn’t look like she wanted to say no. She looked pretty happy.”

  It was a fair point, one I hadn’t been able to argue.

  And it had reminded me that I shouldn’t let my loneliness drive away the people I did have. So I tried to change my tune and be happy for people. Even if it meant investing in some high-quality earplugs to tolerate my brother.

  I’m not sure what time I finally managed to drift to sleep, but I do remember seeing the sky lightening as the sun prep
ared to rise. So when Max wakes me up at eight A.M. the next morning, accidentally dropping a pan with a clatter as she’s fixing breakfast, I decide that I hate her.

  For about ten minutes, until I smell the scent of her waffles drifting around the apartment dreamily.

  The aroma drags me off my “bed,” and I pad into the kitchen to pour myself a cup of coffee. Max takes one look at me and her eyes widen. “Rough night?”

  “Had some trouble sleeping,” I mumble.

  “I’m sorry,” she says, and the genuine sympathy in her voice makes me feel bad for the names I called her in my head for waking me.

  “Eh, it’s not a new thing, decent sleep is pretty rare for me,” I say, shrugging it off.

  “I hope I didn’t wake you up with the noise earlier,” she says, gnawing on her lower lip.

  I don’t have the heart to tell her she did, so I shake my head. “Nah, wasn’t you,” I lie, and I feel like I’ve made the right choice when a relieved smile blooms across her freckled face.

  “You hungry?” she asks, “First waffle’s about to come out.”

  “You’re offering me the first waffle? Should I just go tell Gavin that I’m stealing one of his girls?” I tease.

  Max laughs. “Gorgeous as you are, Jess, that goofy brother of yours and that redheaded Amazonian woman have stolen my heart.”

  My cheeks warm a little at the compliment and I smile. Even if it’s platonic, it’s nice to hear. “Well, as you’ve completely crushed my heart,” I joke, laying across my forehead in a dramatic gesture, “I suppose the first waffle is a small consolation.”

  Max snorts and lifts the lid on the waffle iron, stabbing the waffle with a fork and flipping it onto a plate, passing it over to me. I beam at her and blow her a kiss and she just laughs and rolls her eyes.

  She’s already set butter and syrup on the table and I plunk myself down, digging in. My brother trudges out, and it makes me smile to see that his dark curls, just like mine, look like a tornado in the morning.

  “Morning, sunshine,” I taunt him.

  He grunts at me and plods over to Max, coiling his arms around her from behind and dropping a kiss on the top of her head. Max giggles. “Kate still sleeping?” she asks him.

  “Mhmm,” he mumbles, pouring himself a cup of coffee.

  “Go wake her up and when you come back, I’ll give you a waffle,” she says.

  “No fair, you didn’t make Jessie work for hers,” he grumbles.

  “It’s because she likes me better than you,” I pipe up.

  “Hush, you,” Max laughs, “And it’s hardly work to go kiss Sleeping Beauty.”

  He snorts. “You think that’s actually enough to wake her up?”

  It’s a valid point. Kate could sleep through a bomb. This Prince Charming might need more of an alarm clock than his lips.

  “Go,” she swats at his ass, shooing him out as she peels another waffle from the iron, “Before your waffle gets cold.”

  While I eat, I check my e-mail on my phone, hoping one of the resumes I’d e-mailed out had gotten a hit. Unfortunately, there’s nothing but a fresh batch of postings from the job-hunting site I’ve been using.

  With a sigh, I open the site and start looking through the new openings. I submit applications to a few of them, but nothing looks overly promising. Gavin finally drags Kate out of bed and retrieves his waffle.

  Nobody speaks to Kate until she’s had about half of her coffee, by which point the murderous edge in her glare has ebbed away.

  “So,” I say, setting my phone down, “I was going to go out and spend most of the day hitting the pavement. Anyone know off-hand of any places that are hiring?”

  Kate swallows a mouthful of coffee. “Actually,” she says, “My friend Audrey works at this investment firm downtown and I guess she needs a new admin person. It’s nothing exciting, filing, answering phones, all that, but I could put in a good word for you.”

  It’s not ideal, I was hoping for something within walking distance, but if the pay is decent, maybe I’ll be able to save up for a car and won’t have to take the bus for too long.

  “That would be great, Kate, thanks,” I say, “But it can’t hurt to have some backups, too, so does anyone know of anything else?”

  Max lists off a couple of places that she thinks might be looking for someone and I make notes of all of them in my phone. “Thanks, guys,” I say gratefully before downing the last of my coffee and getting to my feet.

  I rinse off my dishes and plunk them in the dishwasher, grab a clean and presentable outfit, and go hop into the shower to get myself ready.

  New leaf, Jessie, I tell myself. New leaf.

  Chapter Two

  Jessie

  “Cheers! To Jessie!” Max crows as she clinks her glass against mine.

  Out of solidarity, all of the glasses that clink against mine are filled with non-alcoholic beverages, and my heart swells a little at the sweet gesture. “Thanks, guys,” I say after taking a sip.

  I couldn’t stop staring at the couches all around us. Kate had suggested a girl’s night at this place, despite Gavin’s protests, because she said that having landed the job at the investment firm had earned me a night of dancing and fun.

  But this club, Ecstasia, is apparently more than it seems, and there are people hooking up on plush couches all around the room. Apparently there are private rooms upstairs as well, and I can only wonder what kind of craziness is going on up there if the people down here are this…open.

  Max had admitted to me that the three of them had actually met here. I wondered if they’d ever made use of the “private rooms,” but then cringed and shuddered at the thought. Never mind. I don’t want to know.

  We’re here tonight to celebrate, so I push aside the icky thoughts and focus on my happiness instead.

  I’d landed the admin job at the investment firm yesterday. I don’t know how, but apparently some fucking miracle had happened and I’d gotten hired by Kate’s friend Audrey right on the spot. So Kate and Max had planned a girl’s night for us tonight, and left the boys at home playing poker.

  It’s nice, and I’m having fun even if the place isn’t what I expected. The bartender, a pretty redhead named Summer, is a sweetheart, and I can already tell I’ll probably come back just to hang out with her. She overheard that we were celebrating my new job, she had refused to accept payment for any of my drinks, insisting that I just have a good time.

  Max had also invited her friend Lacey, so for the first time in a long time, it really felt like I was surrounded by a group of girlfriends.

  And unlike my old friends, they’re here to lift me up, not drag me further down.

  The girls drag me out to dance and I laugh and twirl amid the flashing lights. Tonight’s not the night to think about the past, tonight is a celebration.

  I feel a weight off my chest, like I’ve really, finally taken the first step toward my “turning a new leaf” goal. A job is a huge first step, and I can’t wait.

  But there’s only so much dancing a girl can do before she needs a break.

  “I need another drink,” I yell over the music to the girls, excusing myself to the bar.

  I order a soda from the bartender, fanning myself lightly with my hand and looking around as I do.

  Whoa.

  My eyes light on a man across the bar. He’s waiting on a drink of his own, and even just leaning across the bar, waiting, he looks like a model pulled straight from a photo shoot. Muscles encased in a designer outfit, perfectly tousled dark hair…and when he turns and his gaze meets my own, my breath catches.

  His eyes are an electric blue, piercing through me, and I feel like he can see straight inside my head. The pull to him is magnetic, and I forget all about the drink I’ve ordered as I make my way to the other side.

  As I approach, his lips curl up into a smile that threatens to make my panties spontaneously combust. I feel a torrent of nervous butterflies flittering through my belly and I take a deep breath, g
athering my courage.

  “Well, hello, there, beautiful,” the man purrs, his voice as sexy as the rest of him.

  Those nervous butterflies are apparently reproducing and I’m momentarily speechless. Fortunately, I’m bailed out when Summer plunks a drink in front of Gorgeous and my soda in front of me. “Here you go, hon,” she tells me with a smile.

  Her smile fades when her gaze shifts to the guy. “If he gives you any trouble, you let me know,” she tells me, shooting him a glare before she turns back around to get back to work.

  I wonder what she meant by that, and it both makes me nervous and excites me.

  While the old me was drawn to trouble like a moth to a flame, I know “new leaf Jessie” shouldn’t be. But I can’t help myself.

  “Love you, too, sis!” he calls after her.

  I relax a little. Guess she’s just giving her brother a hard time “So,” I say, taking a drink, “Should I be expecting trouble from you?” I raise an eyebrow.

  Handsome grins at me. “Oh, loads, it’s my middle name,” he says playfully, offering me a hand to shake, “Darren “Trouble” Barlow.”

  “Jessie Barnes,” I reply, smiling and taking his hand.

  “So, Jessie, haven’t seen you around here before,” he says, taking a sip of his drink, “Have you been here before?”

  “No,” I say with a slightly nervous laugh, “Never.”

  He grins. “I take it Ecstasia wasn’t exactly what you expected.”

  “Definitely not,” I laugh, “I think my brother’s girlfriend brought me here just to make my brother uncomfortable.”

  Darren laughs. “Yeah, I can see a guy not wanting to bring his sister here,” he agrees.

  “Well, yours works here, so I feel like you might be winning that one,” I remind him.

  “True,” he grimaces, “But at least she’s behind the bar and I can keep an eye on her. Although, I’ll admit, I’d much rather keep an eye on you.”

  He gives me a long up-and-down look, like he’s taking in every inch, and while I can feel the heat rising to my face, I kind of love it. The way he’s looking at me makes me feel powerful, sexy. It makes me glad I borrowed this sexy, sparkly little red dress and heels from Kate.