Mr. Imperfect

chapter 43



“Bro, did you see this?” Kris said, holding up his phone. “She dressed up for you.”

Mike didn’t have to ask who his sister was talking about. Even from a distance he could tell that the picture on his screen was Rori. Kris wanted him to believe that Rori had dressed up for him that night when she went to a party in New York?

Please. Tiffany had dressed up for him, too, and she was right in front of him. She’d been flirting with him for months—ever since Mike worked her friend’s wedding.

Tiffany was nice. She was funny. She was interested and less than an arm’s distance away. Rori wasn’t. Mike needed to start looking at realistic dating options. Rori was officially into Count Loser. She’d banged him last night and treated Mike like a little brother earlier today by offering to let him stay at her place. Like a friend. As if there wasn’t anything for her fiancé to worry about with the two of them sleeping in the same space.

“Nice try, sis,” he said, pulling Tiffany in closer to their pose. “Just take the picture, will you?”

Kris shrugged and turned the camera for a picture, snapping off a few. Then she hit a few buttons and handed the camera back. “There you go.”

Mike didn’t mean to look. It was obvious his sister had pulled up the picture of Rori again and he meant to clear it from the screen. But his curiosity won out and he ended up looking at the picture of Rori she’d put back on the screen.

Wow. Just wow. She looked amazing. Her hair was straight, which was a new look for her. Mike didn’t necessarily like it better, but it did give her a more sophisticated look. Plus the hair allowed him to see her shoulders in the strapless dress. Man, she had amazing shoulders. Completely kissable shoulders. Just like her neck, her jaw, and that absolutely spellbinding mouth of hers.

“Who’s that?” Tiffany said over his shoulder.

“A friend,” Mike said, clearing the screen.

“Huh,” she said, not sounding totally pleased. “Where is she?”

“New York,” Mike said. “What are you drinking? Looks like you need a refill.”

Tiffany beamed then. “Whatever you’ve got in that punch bowl.”

“Ah, excellent choice. Let’s get you topped off.”

Gripping her hand, Mike led her over to the main table where a small group was gathered. Mostly guys.

“Hey Brad,” he said, offering a fist bump. “Nate, Connor, Bryce. Have you all met Tiffany?”

They all smiled at her as Mike let go of Tiffany’s hand to get her a drink.

“Hi, guys,” Tiffany said while stepping closer to Mike.

“Hi,” Brad said. “Tiffany, right?”

She sent him a smile. “Yeah.”

Mike was turning to hand Tiffany drink when Kris stepped in. “Bro, can I steal you for a sec?”

“I, uh—”

“I’ll bring him right back,” Kris said to the group, before dragging him away by the wrist.

“Seriously?” Mike hissed as his sister weaved them through the crowd and into the laundry room. Once she saw no one else was in the room she closed the door behind them.

“Look, I’m just going to say this once, then I’ll leave it alone, okay?” She reached out and grabbed his phone away from him. “She’s into you, Mike.”

“Kris, you have no idea what you’re—”

“No?” she said, pulling up the picture again. “There’s more where this came from. And isn’t it interesting that the entire time you’ve known her Rori has never posted pictures of a night out, but now that she knows you’re having a big party, she posts pictures of herself out on the town?”

“That doesn’t mean—”

“Bro, shut up and listen to my totally awesome insight. Then do with it what you will.” Kris held up the phone, this time with a different picture on the screen. “If you look at the picture closely you’ll see that she’s more than a little drunk. You can see it in her eyes and the blush in her cheeks. Now I know you’ve stalked the other images on her page. Is there even one of her not sober besides these? Are there any pictures of her being openly lewd with men? None. Image is huge for her, and those pics don’t make the cut. And then she posts these? Never mind that all the guys she’s out with are all totally gay. Some of them look butch, but they have too many buttons undone to be straight.”

She forced the phone into Mike’s hand.

“Yes, you can sleep with Tiffany tonight. I’ve heard her talking about how she’s going to land you tonight which, as your sister, makes me want to shave her head in her sleep. But that’s beside the point. The point is that I owe Rori for pushing Luke into my lap. So I’m just standing here asking you if you’re ready to throw away all the ground work you’ve laid with her in the past few months?” She tapped the phone. “I know you think she slept with that Count Loser guy last night, but based on these pictures I’m saying she didn’t. Or if she did, it didn’t go well at all. This is a girl who is freaking out. I know, because I pulled stunts like this like a thousand times when I knew Luke was getting laid. He, like you, didn’t notice. I rubbed up on men right in front of him, and he grabbed the girl he was with and took her back to the bedroom.”

Hearing his sister describe the scene he knew she’d lived through over the years, Mike felt a little sick. “I’m sorry, Kris.”

She frowned. “Me, too. And obviously I’ve forgiven him for being such an ass, but I don’t know that Rori will. Her trust issues are a lot deeper than mine. One roll in the hay and she may write you off forever. If you’re cool with that, fine. But if you are thinking of making a big move when you go to New York next month, then girls like Tiffany need to wait. I’m just laying that out there for you plain and clear before you get drunk and stupid. Because I want you to be happy. And I like Rori—as weird as that is. She’s good people.”

“Even though she’s made out with Luke?” Mike asked, feeling a little bit bitter about it himself.

She shrugged. “You saw how they were together. Not exactly dripping with chemistry.”

“No,” he agreed.

“It’s up to you, bro. I just had to do my sisterly duty. I’m done now.” She started out, but Mike stopped her hand before it reached the door knob.

“Kris?”

“Yeah?”

“Let’s say I wanted to get Rori’s full attention without freaking her out. What kind of pictures would I post?”

His sister grinned. “That’s too easy. Post pictures that both she and all her gay buddies will obsess over.”

Mike grimaced. “Ew.”

Kris shrugged. “It is what it is. You post pictures those boys like looking at and they’re going to talk you up all night long and bring you up over and over for the next month. You want your shot at Rori? Well then, you might have to show some skin.”

“What happened to my sister?” he asked, shaking his head. “You used to be so innocent.”

“Yeah, and thank God those days are over. I’ve never been happier, which is why I want you happy, too. You want Rori’s full attention tonight, then get your butt outside and start a ball game with shirts against skins and make sure you’re a skin. I’ll take pictures, and only post the ones that will make her gay friends fight over the phone. What do you say?”

He gave his sister a side hug. “I’d say you’re tactics are mercenary and I hope I never get on your bad side.”

“So you’re in?”

Mike nodded. “I’m in, sis.”

She sent him a smile. “Alrighty then. Let’s go take some pictures that’ll make Rori swoon.”

“Let’s do it.”