Rewrite Me

7. Rom-Com Wanking

Paisley 

I'm bouncing on the balls of my feet, a huge smile warming my face as we walk back toward Elias's lifted white truck. It's spotless, something I didn't at all expect, but the car suits him well.

My team wants to take on the project, they loved my pitch. Despite the taboo nature of the book, they know this is what I'm good at, and they're taking a chance.

My excitement is probably why I don't exactly hear Elias when he tells me we're meeting Malachi and Rain for lunch. It doesn't even register until we pull up outside a quaint little café in the city's heart.

"Rain will piss in my coffee and you and Malachi will laugh," I groan, unwilling to open the door even as Elias pouts.

"We're not that bad," His puppy dog eyes have me smiling in spite of myself.

The café is cute, something you might find in Italy. The building is made of worn-down red bricks, and flowers swing from hanging pots adorning every empty corner. It's exactly the place I would find myself in and I'm betting he knows that.

"Look," He draws an X over his heart. "I promise to hide Rain's underwear if he growls at you,"

For a moment, I want to believe him, but apprehension has me gnawing at my bottom lip. It's easy for him to say these things now, but I've seen how they interact. The second all three of them are in the same room, I'll become the brunt of the joke.

Rain rolls his eyes as we approach, meeting expectations as always.

"I knew something was up the second you dragged us to this frilly shithole," He waves his arms in a display of the café, eyeing Elias's hands as they pull out my chair when I go to sit down.

We're seated on the patio and a few people turn their heads at Rain's explicit language.

"Hi, Paisley." Malachi gives an awkward wave, tentatively sipping a latte.

I force a smile. "Hello to the both of you," My lids lower when I swing my gaze to Rain, but he brushes me off, absentmindedly picking up a menu.

I order a latte of my own when our waitress returns. She's a blushing mess, but in her defense, I probably would be too. My roommates are incredibly attractive, but I'd rather let a piranha nibble on my limbs than entertain their personalities.

It took her multiple tries to introduce herself and Elias wasn't helping anything by being his usual flirty self. After the third time she tried to exit, I decided I was too devoid of caffeine to watch this train wreck any longer.

"Baby," The guy's heads whip in my direction, probably thinking I'm addressing one of them, but I keep my eyes trained on our current favorite blonde. "You're too sexy for a man that wanks it watching early 2000s rom-coms," Winking at a beet-red Elias, I lean farther over the table, wetting my lips and tracking the way her eyes flicker in a moment of weakness.

Like a deer in the headlights, she nods, finally scrambling away to attend to another table flagging her down.

Malachi barks out a laugh, and he and Elias kick each other underneath the table.

"Princess, I swear to God." Elias blows out a breath, a mix of delight and anger swimming in his gaze.

"What?" I bat my eyelashes. "Honestly, I was helping you."

He shakes his head, humiliation and something akin to pride controlling his movements. "How do you even-"

"What on Earth was that?" Rain's irate tone slices through the laughter, cutting it off completely.

"I want my coffee and she deserves better," I shrug, observing as his jaw pops, grinding his teeth to dust.

Leaning across the table, he lowers his voice, reminding me of a father parenting his child. I hate myself when I catch the scent of his sandalwood cologne, greedily inhaling it.

The white, collared golf shirt he sports doesn't fit his bad-boy persona, but it looks incredible. Somehow, it highlights his muscles even more, the color directly contrasting the swirling ink covering the length of his skin.

"What did I say about behaving if you want a place to live?" Rain's anger vibrates through my veins and I feel Elias stiffen beside me. "You're an embarrassment."

Despite my efforts, my face heats at his words, old wounds resurfacing. My stomach curdles, similar insults from my past flashing through my mind. Shame coats my lungs, my heart pounding from the memories.

I can't say I'm not excited to see if Elias holds to his promise.

Smiling at that thought and forcing the bile down my throat, I prop myself up on my elbows. "I hear therapists are great at solving control issues,"

"Suck. Me. Scott." He practically barks, barely keeping his voice level.

Cocking my head to the side, I place a finger on my chin in mock contemplation. "What are those stickers they put on kid's toys?" Rain's eyebrows ark in confusion, but Malachi and Elias seem to catch on, smirking at each other. "You know, the ones warning about small things being a choking hazard?"

"I'm not staying for this," Rain tosses a hand in my direction, addressing his friends.

"Oh, no." Sarcasm chokes my words. "We'd miss Ebenezer Scrooge so much," My mood has soured and I'm reacting like I usually would.

Our waitress picks the perfect time to drop back by, awkwardly setting my coffee on the table and asking if we would like to place our orders. Malachi takes one for the team, politely declining and requesting the check.

"Why don't we all just cool it?" He tries to remedy the situation when we're alone again.

"Me?" I almost feel bad when my anger punches Malachi in the gut. "Tell your buddy to quit acting like my handler,"

He sighs, ruffling his hair, sunlight beaming through the individual ringlets. "Rain has a point though, you can't act like that."

I can't find it in me to hold even the slightest sympathy for any of them, even Elias, who sits quietly with his arms crossed. He promised he would defend me and just like I assumed, he's watching happily as his friend rips me apart.

"This is crazy," I scoff, astonished by the level of tone deaf. "You three do realize I barely know you, right?"

"He didn't mean it like that," Elias finally decides he has a voice, attempting to appease me.

"Of course not, because none of you could ever be in the wrong." Rolling my eyes, I push away from the table, standing as our waitress returns with the bill. "I'll catch a cab home."

I don't stay to listen to the protests.